When she was about 75, my grandma sat for a headshot at the nearby JCPenney photo studio. She sent 5-by-8-inch prints to her four sons and me, her eldest grandchild, with notes telling us, “This is the photo I want at my funeral.” At the time, I was in my mid-20s and found Grandma’s funeral […]
Month: September 2021
Akron school mother breathes sigh of relief over COVID measures
As I listened to a voicemail from a News 5 Cleveland reporter at 7:20 p.m. July 26, my stomach dropped. She wanted to know my thoughts on Akron Public Schools’ announcement at that evening’s school board meeting — which was still ongoing. While I have written several columns critical of APS’s approach to education during the […]
Peruvians understand risks of COVID. Why don’t Americans?
The battle with COVID-19 seemed to round a corner last spring. Multiple vaccines were authorized for emergency use, which many Americans eagerly received when eligible. Then, as COVID infection rates began dropping, many restrictions were lifted. In mid-May, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people need not wear masks in most situations. After a year […]
Music transports us through time
In 1984, I took a Greyhound bus from Arizona to the East and back. At the time, round-trip bus tickets weren’t restricted to specific dates. So along the way I stopped, visited friends and family for a few days, then hopped on another bus. I did this in Chicago, northern Michigan and Dayton before returning […]
Driving around in my new automobile
“Are you excited about your new car?” friends asked me for several days. It wasn’t that I wasn’t, it’s just that for more than a week after I’d chosen it, I’d yet to see the car I was hoping to buy. Boy, buying cars sure has changed since I last purchased one in 2003. That […]
A challenge worth the effort
It was the coolest thing I’ll never do again. “Can you go to Peru with me next month?” asked my college bestie, Jen, in mid-July. Pre-COVID, she had booked a trip to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, but then Peru closed to tourists. When it reopened this summer, Jen was ready to go, […]