My blog has migrated to a new host and is being painstakingly reconstructed here. Please bear with me as I iron out wrinkles, hammer out the dents, and apply enough spit and duct tape to hold it all together.— Karen
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Ever find yourself in a situation that seems completely out of whack, and no matter what you do it just keeps getting worse? No, I’m not talking about global events (you don’t want to get me started on that topic!). This is about small, everyday nightmares that can make the simplest act — such as…
In my defense, the bar was dark, the menu’s lettering was minuscule, and my brain was fried. I’d been walking all morning, and the last leg of the journey had required pushing through the dense crowds thronging downtown Málaga, where every tourist currently visiting Spain seemed to be jockeying for the most Instagram-worthy place to…
Is the planet Mercury in retrograde? Could there be something in the water? Are the End Times really upon us at last? Because it seems to me that humans have been behaving very strangely lately. And now citizens of the animal kingdom are joining us on the wagon train to weirdness. Take, for instance, our…
Is it possible to go overboard with de-stressing? Oh, yes. Just look at Englishman Jeremiah Carlton, who in 1720 turned 19, inherited a vast fortune, and decided to spend the rest of his life in bed. He employed servants to give him sponge baths, spoon-feed him meals, and bring him stacks and stacks of books.…
CELEBRATING GOOD NEIGHBORS These days I’m writing about Good Neighbors, exploring how the people around me are working to help each other get through these challenging times. My weekly posts appear on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on my travel and research schedule.
THIS BLOG IS A PROMOTION-FREE ZONE. As my regular readers know, I never get free or discounted goods or services for mentioning anything on this blog (or anywhere else). I only write about things I find interesting and/or useful.
