Tuesday night I got a totally unexpected phone call informing me I’ve been chosen by the Friends of the Albany Public Library to be honored for “Local Book and Author of the Year.” They want to showcase me and my mystery Eldercide at a luncheon on November 14th. What’s more, they love the title and… [Read More]
Zoning out, taking wrong turns – a poem
Have you ever zoned out at the wheel and ended up driving in some totally unforeseen direction that has nothing to do with your intended destination? I have, more than once. Here’s a poem about one such experience. Roads Not Taken Hurtling high above the Hudson, pushing sixty, I execute a daring merge,… [Read More]
Affordable Funerals Part II: Down by the riverside
Funeral arrangements and memorial services can be meaningful, healing experiences even when costs are kept low. Membership in an affiliate of the Funeral Consumers Alliance can help families cope with their loss while keeping both stress and expense at a minimum. I wrote this article a year ago for the fall newsletter of the Memorial… [Read More]
Planning affordable funerals – difficult topic, worthwhile cause
Today I’m donning a different hat and adopting a different persona – that of Administrator for the Memorial Society of the Hudson-Mohawk Region, Inc. We’re an affiliate of the national Funeral Consumers Alliance, the leading advocacy organization for consumers of funeral services – and sooner or later, this means everybody. Death and funeral arrangements aren’t… [Read More]
Addicted to computer solitaire? Read my poem “Skinner’s Last Laugh”
Are you now or have you ever been addicted to computer solitaire? I certainly have been, especially when in the throes of clinical depression. I wrote this poem about my favorite game, Spider, and B.F. Skinner’s “Human Behavior” course at Harvard several years ago, before my books were published, when I was temporarily off Zoloft…. [Read More]
Julie & Julie & Julia Part II
I’ve spent the past couple of hours researching Julie Powell and her 365-day Julie/Julia Project, which led to a book deal and then a movie. I’ve learned a lot, but I still haven’t figured out how she built such an enormous following for her blog. I did find her actual blog, though – two of… [Read More]