Category: GOOD NEIGHBORS
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Don’t Panic!
When I first heard a humanoid AI robot had become a monk in a Buddhist monastery, I was aghast. If AI was taking over the work of spiritual heavyweights who had devoted their lives to advancing the human race toward enlightenment, how can the rest of us hope to hold on to our paltry jobs? “At…
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What Would Mr. Rogers Say About These Neighborhoods?
Ever thought about spending your golden years kicking up your heels? “Contrary to popular belief, nursing homes are more than just some kind of middle ground between a B&B and a minimum-security prison — they can be havens for the kind of rowdy, rebellious, and ribald behavior you’d think people were designed to age out of,”…
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Tell Me Ur Good News!
This week, when I asked neighbors, friends, and family to share a snippet of good news, their first reaction was always a glassy-eyed stare — not so much deer-in-the-headlights as Wile E. Coyote suspecting he’d stepped off a cliff. Because today, when you hear “news,” just about the last word you associate with it is…
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Just Join Something
When I moved to Cleveland as a newlywed, I was immediately charmed by the story of Lucille Perk, who became a local legend when she declined an invitation to the Nixon White House because it conflicted with her bowling night. For more than 20 years she knocked down pins with her pals on the Vic’s…
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Hair-Raising Household Disasters R Us
I try not to play favorites, so every morning, when I follow Seville tradition and place fresh parsley at the feet of Spain’s beloved household saint, San Pancracio, I make sure the Buddha gets some, too. Because hey, when it comes to petitioning for good luck, belt and suspenders, right? San Pancracio, Seville’s patron saint…
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Moonstruck
Breaking news from outer space: UFOs are real and aliens are among us. The US government (and I am not making this up) is holding secret, closed sessions to discuss the latest sightings, and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) emerged from official briefings ready to shout the truth from the rooftops. “I was briefed last week on…
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Who Does That?
I couldn’t stop saying it. “Who does that?” Rich and I were gazing at messages of hate taped to the front window of a restaurant I’ll call Ballistic Pizza. It felt like that moment in True Detective when they find the serial killer’s lair, lined with blurry photos and insane rants, and somebody gasps, “My God, he really is…
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He’s Innocent! Really!
I’m not saying he’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, but last week Rich was apprehended by police and detained to “help them with their inquiries.” It all started so innocently. Having just returned to California after six months in Spain, Rich took our dusty VW to the local car wash. Ready to head home…
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Looking for Community in All the Right Places
So far I’ve never been called a “shapeshifting reptilian alien ushering humanity towards enslavement,” but if it ever happens, I hope my response would be as good-natured as that of then-Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand. If you don’t follow the loonier fringe conspiracy theories (and why should you?) you may not be aware…
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The Power of Book Clubs
They say you never forget your first time. I was a newlywed, newly arrived in Ohio, and felt enormously flattered when a kind acquaintance invited me to join a prestigious book club that had been meeting for more than a century. That month’s selection was Madame Bovary, in which a bored 19th century housewife has…