life
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Worrying About Brown People In Our Community
The angst I felt over the past few weeks as the UPS truck rumbled by our home and down the street is the reason I write this column tonight. It is a small thing in life. A truck with boxes, sometimes for me, is something I like to see. But in recent weeks, the truck… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Early Retirement Allows Gentle Pull To The Next Chapter Of Life” 8/29/26
It has been in the offing for a while, but now it is official. James Wilson, my husband, retired effective yesterday. Smiles abound. And the opening hours of that new chapter could not have started in a more serene, tranquil, and unexpected way. We were both reading books on the front lawn (James with early Maine… Continue reading
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Dolly’s Open Hand vs. Trump’s Closed Grifting Fist
A lesson in genuinely meaningful ethics. Two very different American stories are in focus this week: rich people and what they do with their wealth. One belongs to Dolly Parton, an iconic superstar who lived a life that treated success like a resource to be shared. The other belongs to Donald Trump, who treats financial… Continue reading
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How We Live Is What Endures
Several years ago, I sat through a funeral service that would have been comical had it not been about death. The person in the casket had been a philanderer of the first order, and his deeds had occurred over a long span of years. Much of the community knew about those deeds. But we were… Continue reading
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The Last Uncomplicated Boys: What A 1934 Magazine Cover Says To 2026
For many months, I have had a photo from a 1934 Saturday Evening Post in my ‘to do’ pile, as I wanted to add some commentary on the painting’s innocence and place it in context with our helicopter censors, who would deem this unacceptable on a cover of a best-selling magazine today. Somehow, it would… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Anniversary Of Buying Our Entire Home, The Back Story And More” 7/31/26
On this date in 2019, James and I took ownership of our entire Victorian home on the Madison isthmus. We inherited the first-floor condo in 2007, and, as the account below shows, buying the top two floors was a journey. I am going to let my free-flow writing, done over the years in fits and… Continue reading
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Letter from Home: “Boy In Yellow Shirt, Uplift Of Talking To Strangers” 7/27/26
In these fraught, jangly‑edged times, the smallest conversations can remind us we’re still part of one another’s story. I write this column at a time of great angst in Madison following another police shooting (six blocks from where James and I live) and at a time when a series of hourly headlines from Washington alert… Continue reading
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All Were Talking About The Powerful Political Play Of The Week In Wisconsin
Can we all agree on one thing? Didn’t it feel wonderful this weekend, regardless of what political party is our home, or what policy views we hold, or political philosophy we ascribe to, that it was fun to talk about the Wisconsin governor’s race with friends in the neighborhood or even with strangers at the… Continue reading
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Another Year Around The Sun
As today approached, I realized my life had wandered far from where it began. Not so much in miles, I guess, but certainly in perspective and outcome. I was born in Hancock, Wisconsin, a small rural Wisconsin town in Waushara County. Growing up in such a place means learning early how to live with a… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Little Raccoon” 6/18/26
A couple of weeks ago, James and I sorted through a large drawer containing childhood memories. I picked up the well-used and somewhat frayed hardcover copy of Little Raccoon. My father would come into the dining room, and without ceremony, he’d reach for the book that was included in a pile of my childhood reads. I… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 