You can read a story I wrote about Gramz and her boyfriend, Gordon, in today’s St. Petersburg Times. My grandma, “Gramz,” is the most special woman I know. She’s my surrogate mom, the person I’ve always turned to when I’ve needed advice or help finding my way through the labyrinth of love. At 86, GramzContinue reading “Grandma, 86, Is Dating the Next-Door Neighbor and Loving It”
Tag Archives: Personal writing
Old Editorial Touts Newspapers As ‘Wave of the Future’
Recently I came across an editorial that I wrote for The MetroWest Daily News, the newspaper that I interned at in high school and freelanced for during winter breaks in college. Reading the editorial, which I wrote in July 2006, the summer before senior year, made me laugh. It’s clear that I was overly optimisticContinue reading “Old Editorial Touts Newspapers As ‘Wave of the Future’”
Will More Nutrition Facts Help Curb Obesity? Don’t Count on It
Shortly after slathering some cream cheese on my multigrain bagel Monday morning, I opened up the St. Petersburg Times to see a cover story with the headline: “Consuming Truths.” Accompanying the story was a photo of the same type of bagel I was eating: “Dunkin’ Donuts multigrain bagel with reduced-fat cream cheese,” the caption read.Continue reading “Will More Nutrition Facts Help Curb Obesity? Don’t Count on It”
Mallary and the ‘Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’
We all have those days, or weeks or months where everything seems to go wrong. Alexander, one of my favorite childhood literary characters, said it best when he summed up his stroke of bad luck in the book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”: “I went to sleep with gum inContinue reading “Mallary and the ‘Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’”
Prepping for Friends’ Weddings
When I walked into my friend’s apartment in Minneapolis last weekend, I spotted a wrapped present on her bed that said “Mallary.” I opened it to find a little canvasboard that had cut-out photos of my friend and me from senior year of college. In pink paint, my friend had written, “Mallary, will you beContinue reading “Prepping for Friends’ Weddings”
How Words Shape the Way We Experience the World
I’ve always considered words to be beautiful — the way they’re used, the way they sound and the way they can be used to shape our experience of the world around us. I started thinking about this more after reading a brief in Tuesday’s St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times mentioning a Mississippi State University survey thatContinue reading “How Words Shape the Way We Experience the World”
Keeping Traditions Alive, Even When You Live Alone
Being away from family during the holidays has been difficult, but it’s gotten easier, especially thanks to friends and surrogate parents who invite me to their houses so I won’t have to be alone. I’m grateful for the invitations, but I still miss the family traditions I grew up with — Easter supper with myContinue reading “Keeping Traditions Alive, Even When You Live Alone”
Lots of Books in My Bookcase, Eight on My Nightstand
I’ve always read a lot, but lately I haven’t made as much time for books as I’d like. Growing up, it was easy to find time to read — I read while walking two miles every day on my way to and from middle school. I read while climbing trees, while walking through the groceryContinue reading “Lots of Books in My Bookcase, Eight on My Nightstand”
A Sunday Spent Eating Outside, Shopping at an Asian Market
Today I spent the afternoon with some friends who have a beautiful garden in their backyard. While making lunch — veggie burgers, fruit salad and crackers with hummus — we went out to the garden to get home-grown lettuce for our burgers, which we ate with fresh cilantro pesto. Yum. As we munched on lunchContinue reading “A Sunday Spent Eating Outside, Shopping at an Asian Market”
Taking a Look at ‘Our First Loves’
A former colleague who’s now a professor at Northwestern University sent me a link to a project his students recently put together. I found the project, called “Our First Love,” pretty interesting — mainly because of the stories, which are about each student’s first love. I especially liked the audio (and the origami hearts) inContinue reading “Taking a Look at ‘Our First Loves’”
Word on the Street 