Writing. . .

—From CB— We’re in the final stage of our novel DESSIE, reading aloud a chapter a day, and sometimes changing a comma, sometimes a paragraph. The intention is to finish before I go to Europe on Mar. 15. Why? It’s unpublishable—grim, funny, fits no genre, and if it...

—From EF— Last Sunday it was a wild and lovely day at the ocean, rain and wind but moderate enough for about a gazillion gulls to practice gliding in groups. We weren’t nuts, we stayed inside and had our picnic in the car, and got the added pleasure of watching...

DISMANTLEMENT. . .

 —From CB— The Facebook post screamed DISMANTLE THE STRUCTURES OF OPPRESSION! Good idea, I thought, even though it was only 8 a.m. and I hadn’t had my coffee. I could kick the can down the road forever, but the weather had cleared and this morning might be a good time...

Practicing Medicine. . .

—From EF— When I was in the seventh grade, I was sure that I would become an MD. I still have the little carefully-stapled booklet of all the detailed ink drawings I did that year of every damn bone in the body. I managed to ignore the cognitive dissonance of...

Getting Rid of It. . .

—From CB— At some point, accumulation becomes a curse. As one enters the age of the endgame—EF 82, CB 81—you begin to lie awake in the dark hearing the choir intone, “You can’t take it with you.” Money is easy. We made our wills long ago, realizing that drunk drivers...

Honey. . .

—From EF— I’m in the process of writing the second book of my memoir, and getting closer to the beginning of our second Great Heave — having our own theatre building again. The first one was in Milwaukee with the newborn Theatre X, and that was an epic change....

Grunting Along. . .

—From CB— This morning, making coffee, we got into a spat—a trivial thing but one of those moments that happen over the course of sixty-two years, when you just can’t let go, when words elicit a reply that elicits more words, and on and on, like a hot potato you can’t...

It’s All in the Timing

—From EF— Watching the endless but ever-changing procession of waves at the ocean today, I realized that I was seeing a lesson on how to deliver comedy. I love the muscular foamy wham-bam of a breaking wave almost as much as a good belly-laugh, so I watch closely as...

Purpose. . .

—From CB— Why do you write? Not a stupid question—one that comes up endlessly in online writers’ groups—but generally one to be dodged. You can contemplate it for hours, turn it over and around and about, or you can write. I’ve always found my own answers flippant or...

New Year…

—FROM EF— Well, hello, New Year! We’ve just had a week of glorious rain, and then today is golden sun and blue skies—for just this day. Tomorrow we will return to blessed rain. I am profoundly grateful that this year’s fire season was a dud up here. In...