Memoirous

File this one under memoir-ish. And, I’m not even sure what prompted this unprovoked memory—except that last night I was reading and randomly came across the word go-go . . . and then I remembered. When I was young—but old enough that I should have known better— Naïve. So when I was young and naïve I had a dream of one day being a dancer. This dream was without foundation, experience, or even training. I think I just liked the idea of dancing. My father in his day had learned to swing and in college he and my mother attended dances, but dance as far as free expression or for the pure joy of movement was not encouraged in my family. Perhaps this is why I so longed to break out and dance. It was also the 60s and on Laugh-In I loved to see Goldie Hawn groove in her white patent leather go-go boots and funky all-over pattern mini-dresses. I think she was also on the game show Hollywood Squares . So there was also a “look” or style I wished to emulate. Either ...

February--and this has been the second worst month of 2014 for weather, the other being last month. But today is Friday--and for that I bring you a glimmer of sunshine: February by James Schuyler, from Selected Poems A chimney, breathing a little smoke. The sun, I can't see making a bit of pink I can't quite see in the blue. The pink of five tulips at five p.m. on the day before March first. The green of the tulip stems and leaves like something I can't remember, finding a jack-in-the-pulpit a long time ago and far away. Why it was December then and the sun was on the sea by the...

An artist in Miami is purported to have smashed a $1M vase by dissident artist Ai Weiwei. I’ve written at this blog before about Weiwei and the profound impact his exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC had on me. The convoluted reasoning behind this act of vandalism—was that the PAMM (Perez Arts Museum Miami) didn’t exhibit local artists. Hmmm . . . okay. So you decide to destroy someone else’s work? And, I can hardly believe they haven’t once shown local art. And, what is local art? Would that be an artist from Miami, or someone from Florida, or simply an American? And, what if it were a Guatemalan, raised in Nebraska, now living in Miami—would that be good enough? Art has been a global commodity for a long time. The Vikings were always raiding other cultures and bringing back artifacts. Napoleon stole the horses from San Marco in Venice and before that the Venetians stole them from the Byzantines when they sacked Constantinople. And, before t...

a hundred years ago-- got these photos from Forgotten Chicago THANKS

This is the first winter I can remember when 2 coats wasn’t enough. This winter I’ve worn my long underwear for the past 40 days. This winter has been so cold that 4 above feels like a heat wave. This is the first winter where I’ve come to understand the principle of hibernation. As someone who loves winter, I can’t stand the thought of another 6 weeks of it. Instead of putting on my normal winter weight of 2 – 3 pounds, I’ve gained ten. The idea of a snow day no longer holds delight. I dread the weather report now. In the past I’ve run throughout the winter, unless I was x-country skiing. This winter I’ve had to push myself to exercise. It’s hard to move when wearing 6 layers. There are some days when I never step outside—and I like it. This winter my skin has been so dry I’ve gone through a whole bottle of Jergens; my last bottle lasted 2 years. This winter nearly all the Great Lakes are ice covered. I could walk from Chicago to Canada, if...

My workmate just got an invitation to join her daughter in the future. We had a nice laugh. It was set up like a Google invite or one of those things you get through e-mail. The date was something like 2016. On one hand it showed that the child has computer chops (just like her mama) and knows her way around a program, and is likely going to grow up to be a hacker. The really good hackers always get recruited to work for the government. On the other hand in the present sense it was cute. Knowing the sender of such e-mail, she is precocious: Something’s always goin’ on. She goes through phases, but her main obsession is biology—specifically bugs and bones. These things hold whole worlds. They tell stories. Yet the invitation held a whisp of melancholy. In 2016 she will be just turning teen—will she want Mom to join her in the future? Will that future occupy a space of stress, eyerolls, and monosyllabic replies (usually followed by more eyerolls)? Will she trade her ...

Just got my copy of FLASH , the International Short-Short Story Magazine with my essay: The Mystery of Memory--or How to Write Memoir-ish. The journal is out of the University of Chester in the UK. It's great to see a school with a Creative Writing Program with an emphasis on micro fiction and non-fiction. Keep your ear to the ground--as I'm going to be leading a class at OCWW (Off Campus Writers Workshop) in Winnetka March 27th on Writing Your Memoir, Scene by Scene We all have fantasized at one time or another about what famous celebrity will play us in the movie of our life. With this seminar Jane Hertenstein will help you isolate significant life moments and translate them into scenes. Some issues she will explore are working with composite characters, streamlining events, creating creative non-fiction, and finding the arc in your story. Life is made up of a number of episodes. I'll be taking manuscripts. Yay!! Currently (like this past week) been busy...

I would like to share with you a blog post I came across. Here is an example of an iPad literally changing lives. Jeremy Nicholls is a case worker at a local homeless shelter, Cornerstone Community Outreach and he blogs at Setting Prisoners Free and he wrote recently about how to make housing happen. Here is a snip** Over the past couple years, I've seen a very large number of chronically homeless people move out of their homelessness and into permanent housing! I emphasis this, because I'm talking about many men and women who've been existing on the streets and in shelters for over a decade or even decades. I speak of this, because many of these people struggle with debilitating mental illnesses, devastating addictive personalities and major health issues. I dwell on this, because jail doors and prison gates frequently rotate these folk in and out, mainly for non-violent offenses and petty crimes. I focus on this, because these men and women face insurmountable ob...