Keep Calm And Carry On

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 07/28/10 at 4:07 pm

Day 202 There were two lines, and I was prepared to join whichever one moved fastest. At my left, the customer’s voice was loud and sharp.  “Two dollars and nineteen cents for THAT?”  The cashier did not make eye contact, but politely repeated the total.  To my shock, the customer flung the cash at the [...]

Full Story

TMI?

Day 201 An intimate friend described what I write here as “revealing your underbelly.” Yikes.  Is that what I’m doing? A person of my acquaintance put so many details of her private life online that I had to turn away from the trainwreck. She overshared to the point of revulsion.  Apparently unaware that she was revealing her lack [...]

Full Story

Quelle Heure Est Il?

Day 200 I didn’t realize I hadn’t been posting until someone wrote me and said she noticed I had taken a few days off from writing. I missed an appointment today even though I had planned my day around it.  I got sidetracked and was lost in time. It’s interesting to observe myself in this state, [...]

Full Story

Sorry, Kids

Day 199 The family is sorting through the seemingly endless drawers and closets and shelves and boxes that contain…well, it’s hard to describe the accumulated material goods of several generations. People kindly ask, “Is there anything I can do for you?”  I say, “Look around your house and get rid of a few things you wouldn’t want your children [...]

Full Story

Wuv Oo

Day 198 My first thought upon awakening almost every morning: “Where am I?” I travel so frequently that until I open my eyes, I have no idea whether I’m in the United States or not, whether I’m in a familiar bed or not, whether I’m alone or not. If I’m not alone, I’m with my [...]

Full Story

Doggone Neighbor

Day 197 How late should I be allowed to sleep in on a Saturday morning the week of my mother’s funeral after I have crossed an ocean to say goodbye? I thought I deserved to be undisturbed in the 7am hour, but a neighbor apparently thought otherwise.  She was hollering, as dog owners sometimes do, [...]

Full Story

A Good Excuse

Day 196 I never saw the movie “Millions,”  but my friend Pamela saw it when it was released, and she told me the story.  Two young brothers have suffered a loss.  As Pamela told it, the older boy instructed his sibling in how to turn the tragedy to their advantage. “If you tell them your [...]

Full Story

Vapor

Day 195 I am mourning. My mother died, and it is as if a bubble burst and the tiniest particles are visible for a moment, then gone.  That’s how I’m experiencing the vanishing history of me.  Driving around the old neighborhoods is surreal – the places and the people are dramatically aged or gone forever. The [...]

Full Story

Flowers Gratefully Declined

Day 194

Full Story

Mel Low

Day 193 I passed a newsstand and saw dozens of headlines trumpeting the latest Mel Gibson meltdown tapes. Is anyone really shocked to discover the latest antisocial behavior of this person with a history of substance abuse, religious fanatacism, racist and sexist rants, and failure to accept responsibility and make amends for his behavior?  It’s obvious this [...]

Full Story

« Older Entries