Elise Sereni Patkotak

I thought our country had a stronger base, a stronger heart and soul, a stronger belief in the democracy we have spent the better part of a couple centuries teaching the world is the best form of government.

Boy was I wrong.

Our democracy is crumbling faster than the Berlin wall, than stale bread, than Trump’s religious beliefs. And that other party, you know, what were they called – oh yeah, the Democrats. Aside from begging for money from me, I can’t figure out exactly what they are doing to save our country from dictatorship and the loss of all Continue reading →

Remember when any of your contemporaries died and people always said it was such a sin because they had so many good years ahead of them.

People don’t say that anymore about my contemporaries’ deaths.

Hmmm… Continue reading →

So let’s get started.

1. Thanks to some very good friends, I will be going to see Neil Degrasse Tyson at the Anchorage PAC in July. Or June. I’m not sure when. And it really doesn’t matter. I never understand what he’s saying but I sure do want to. And he’s so excited to try and get us to understand. I love him and don’t understand most of what he says. He’s like my Nona. I never understood her English/Italian either. OOPS! I’ve just admitted I come from immigrants. Please don’t let them arrest me.
2. I recently saw a picture of

So aside from being told to exercise less (until the butt pain is fixed) and eat more (until I gain weight, something that has never been a problem in the past), I find that I also cry a lot more easily. I mean, ok, I cried when my little friend Greta came walking down the aisle at her wedding. But I also cried when I was told I was being treated to a Neil deGrasse Tyson ticket at the Performing Arts Center.

So my question is – what’s that all about?

Continue reading →

America seems to be over, but as someone who has traveled this world over since the late 1970s, I can tell you unequivocally that it had been over for quite awhile. While in most countries people were kind and respectful to those of us traveling together, they were not so nice about America.

See, America has increasingly been seen in the world as a bully worse than Russia. If we don’t like you or your leadership, we make up a reason for war and destroy your country. We claim it is for a high moral purpose but it isn’t. If Continue reading →

If I find out that one more thing is wrong with me, I am going to eat an entire coconut cream white chocolate Easter egg and end it all. Continue reading →

For reasons that are apparent to anyone who has even an inkling of my political leanings, I turned off my tv last fall. I turned off the news on my radio. I stopped listening to Colbert or the Daily Show. I stopped looking at Facebook and any other online site where I might accidentally see the news.

Maybe if I was younger, this would be wrong. But I’m not. I’m old. Very, very old. And I simply no longer have the energy or enthusiasm for the outside world. My world has shrunk to my home, my dogs, my birds, my Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, Anchorage had a windstorm that was quite impressive. So impressive, in fact, that it blew out a large part of the fence in my dog yard. I didn’t notice it at first. Neither, apparently, did my dogs.

All three of them went out at least four or five times without noticing. Or maybe they noticed and didn’t understand the concept of running away. Or maybe it was treat time and they chose to stay put in order to get one. Whatever was going through their minds, escape was not one of those thoughts. Or maybe they Continue reading →

This does not feel like my America. At least, not like the America I was raised to believe in. And yet, it is all of us, the Boomers, their children, and grandchildren who have voted to create this America.

If we didn’t raise our children and grandchildren to know any better, that’s on us.

But now the Boomers are over. Or we should be. We were supposed to be the generation that brought love and kindness to society. Acceptance and comradery.

Not only did we blow that big time, as a parting gift to all, we have given America its Continue reading →

I like to read in bed. But I have bad vision. I need to read on my iPad so I can make the print larger.

I like to play word games in bed.  I can only do this on my iPad.

I like a lot of things I can do with my iPad in bed. But there’s a problem. It’s called my midriff. Apparently, what is left of the fat of my youth has settled in my midriff. The doctors say this is normal. It’s like the Florida of your body. It’s where the fat goes when it retires from Continue reading →