Scribblings

Whatever happened to Benghazi?

Remember how before the election all you heard about was Benghazi and how the House was going to “get” Hillary Clinton for it? Notice how that whole issue disappeared after the election? Just another smear campaign against a woman who never did anything in her life except for trying to serve the American people. Way to go, Republicans. You truly are assholes. Continue reading →

Scribblings

Happy Birthday, Grace

Today my friend Grace becomes officially very old. I, of course, am younger than her by almost a full two months so I’m not officially very old yet. Grace and I have been friends since we were 3 years old growing up next door to each other. Which makes it even funnier when we get into conversations now and instead of talking boys or kids, we talk about our latest doctor visits and which parts of our bodies are, or are not, falling apart.

Grace now has a wandering toe issue. I have a wandering endocrine system. We all have Continue reading →

Columns 2016

A holiday message

Black Friday is over and we are now fully engaged in the orgy of shopping that has become our holiday season. When we emerge from our shopping stupor around January 2 and see the credit card bills, we might not think those gifts were as much fun as they were when we were buying them. But if you take just a moment to actually honor the spirit of the season, you might find a way to make at least some of those gifts as palatable after the holidays as before.

Yes, this is my annual pitch for everyone to try Continue reading →

Scribblings

Meet Nayla

Meet the newest member of my family. Her name is Nayla and she is 8 yrs. old and weighs about 8 pounds. She is my favorite breed… rescue!

Carm is pretty ok with this. So long as he’s on his pain meds, he’s really ok with just about anything.

Snowy’s nose, on the other hand, is way out of joint. He and Nayla circle each other looking for an opening to steal whatever toy the other one has. I find this highly amusing. It keeps Snowy occupied so he doesn’t bother Carm. And as sweet as Nayla is… and she Continue reading →

Scribblings

Another reason to count our blessings

Wow. In a two day period I heard that a dear friend from Barrow is being treated for lung cancer, an attorney I knew from the borough… one of the sweetest men ever… died recently and the vet who has held my hand through so many painful partings with my little family almost died of a heart problem on Sunday.

I’m sitting here stunned. How am I still alive and that attorney is dead? How do I have a relatively healthy heart and that young vet almost dies in his bed? How do I, a committed smoker for over twenty Continue reading →

Scribblings

What is wrong with this picture

Every day I check my website for comments. And every day, amidst the comments from actual people, I receive at least ten spams from someone trying to sell me Viagra on the cheap. No one is trying to spam me over birth control pills. But Viagra… dear lord. I realize that for some men the ability to get and sustain an erection is the definition of their manhood but honestly guys, women aren’t that shallow. We also like other things that don’t depend on a pill to achieve. Sometimes we just want you to listen or hold us or help Continue reading →

Scribblings

Each year I find myself more conflicted

I love it when it snows. I love it even more when it snows and I don’t have to go anywhere or do anything but sit in my chair and watch white fluff fall from the sky.

But each year driving in those white out conditions gets harder and each year it seems that Anchorage gets a little slower in plowing the roads so that there is some semblance of a lane available to the human eye.

On Thursday, amidst the first real snow of our season, I drove to my doctor’s office. My appointment was after 11 AM so Continue reading →

Scribblings

Giving it time is not working

Time has passed and I still feel as though I can never reconcile the presidency of the Orangeman to my belief in America. I cannot look at people who actually voted for him and are proud to admit it the same way I did before the election. And mostly, I have had it with the assholes who keep telling me to get over it and back him because he is our president. This from the same people who announced their one and only goal during the Obama administration was to make Obama a failure. Well folks, it’s like the saying Continue reading →

Scribblings

My body may never again know

My body may never again know what time it really is. Day and night are upside down. I want to go to sleep at 3PM and awaken at 1 AM.  Most of my friends are not amused when I call to see if they want to go to lunch at 4 AM. When I was younger, this was a whole lot easier. Continue reading →

Columns 2016

Amid the horror, there is reason for hope

Visiting Birkenau and Auschwitz is not something you do on vacation for fun. You do it to bear witness to the millions who died there for no other reason than believing in the wrong god, having the wrong skin color, or loving the wrong person. Wrong, in this context, was defined by the people in power and had nothing to do with any real ethical or moral standards.

It is hard to walk through these death camps and not feel the terror that seems to permeate the very stones of the ground. It is virtually impossible to stand at the Continue reading →