Dear Nicholas, I first ran across the energy-charged word “zowie” in an intriguing new biography of author Kurt Vonnegut. Written by his old friend Dan Wakefield, Kurt Vonnegut: The Making of a Writer has lots of fascinating personal material.  Early in his career Vonnegut had been turned down in his application to teach at Cape […] Read More

Seriously? A town of anxious writers! Could that be? An article on England’s unhappiest towns reports that Norwich, described as “a hub of literary activity,” home to many writers and actors, was not only third most unhappy but also the Number One Most Anxious community in the UK. It certainly looks pleasant enough. (BTW, sorry […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, Why do I always have to tie up every ridiculously small loose end in life in order to comfortably leave town for a day or few? I know I’m not the only one who does this. Is it an innate piece of human nature to complicate getting ready to travel? Minding the Chickens […] Read More

I fell for an online scam that emptied our checking accounts. Duped, scammed, robbed! How did I let this happen? Read More

                  Dear Nicholas,  Sometimes lately, thinking I’m at work at my laptop, I’m instead watching videos of “Cutest Chubby Babies on the Planet” on Youtube.  Or reading scandal news on the Daily Mail, checking often for updates. Or watching clips of surfers, of dancers. So, help me stop wasting […] Read More

In my mind, my mother and Queen Elizabeth have long been connected. Until the queen died, I thought I was the only one harboring such a thought. Now I’ve read a tiny fraction of the public responses and I realize that a lot of people, women especially, of about my age  have had the same […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I am a very discouraged gardener. I feel defeated. Since last winter I’ve been letting nature take over. But I want to recover and get back out into action.  The reason I’ve stayed inside reading even on pretty days is that I’m tired of feeding deer, rabbits and voles.  This past year they […] Read More

Never would I have imagined, Nicholas, that I’d get hooked on watching glammed-up children sail, two by two, around a dance floor as if in a ballroom a hundred years ago. After all, dance recitals are known to be one of the heaviest burdens of parenthood. A blogger called Scary Mommy is eloquent on the […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I’ve been a bit more forgetful in recent months. Only about very small things, but I don’t like it AT ALL. Makes me feel I’m in a leaky boat. I’m guessing that paying attention to each little memory lapse or hesitation can only make forgetfulness worse. Normal Does Not Equal Good A sixty-something […] Read More

To throw off a personal misery, a helpful question is: what am I getting out of it? What benefit do I get from the problem that might prevent a cure? Silver linings can be a trap, a real deterrent to making the full effort to solve the problem. I do know this, my friend. And […] Read More