on this memorial day (MEMORIES!)

On this Memorial Day I place yellow roses at my family’s gravesite. My index finger traces each letter and number carved into the granite headstone.  C-R-O-N-I-N-B-E-R-R-Y-1-8-4-9-1-9-4-0-1-9-3-4-1-8-8-5-1-9-2-6-1-8-8-7-1-9-8-2-M-O-T-H-E-R-F-A-T-H-E-R-J-O-H-N-J-U-L-I-A-K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E-J-O-H-N-B- I know my great grandparents, JOHN AND JULIA, only  from faded black and white photos  that I found in an old album. A family picture taken on the side lawn of …

the squeezo ( RUSTS!)

Jim fed the tomatoes into the hopper with the wooden plunger and cranked the handle. Tomato puree  poured down the drain tray and into the big yellow bowl;  the  seeds and skin dropped into the compost container. “Well, that’s it,” he said. “That’s the last of the 2019 tomatoes.” “You mean last year’s bocce balls,” I replied, remembering …

spring (TIME!)

  April: The calendar says spring. But the Boston weatherman reports the true story: rain, sleet and even some, yes... snow across the higher elevations. I know how the calendar lies. I’ve learned a few things about spring weather during my thirty -eight years of gardening. Bean seeds that rotted in the drenched soil after …

the baker (MAN!)

I first suspected my husband’s affair in late August during the peak of the garden season. Those weeks when the little lettuces hid in the shadows of the squash trellis and the clusters of Italian tomatoes hung heavy and low to the ground. The Big Boys and Jet Stars ripened pink to red with the …

december first (FINALLY!)

I loved the bigness of the house at forty-five New York Street. I loved moving from the kitchen to the dining room and then into the front parlor. I loved going up the front staircase, through the bedrooms, down the back stairs to the mud room and into the kitchen again. I loved the barn, …

chances are (GOOD!)

When you live in a four-room apartment without any bookshelves, chances are that you don’t own a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. And chances are that there’s no desk in the bedroom you share with your mother. The kitchen table becomes your work space. You spread out your textbooks and loose-leaf binder and mimeographed sheets of …

and there were roses (RED!)

Louisville, Kentucky Thursday, May 3, 2018 This is it, I think, as I enter the main concourse of the Louisville International Airport. I’m ready to cross this item off my bucket list. I’m ready to enjoy the birthday gift that my husband gave me last October. I’m ready for “the most exciting two minutes in …

The longwood grill (AND BAR!)

Boston 2017 On this February evening at 6p.m., there’s only a handful of customers left in the dining room of the Longwood Bar and Grill. A young family with two small children eat chicken nuggets and fries. An elderly couple split a salad and a turkey club and sip glasses of rose wine. The medical …

christmas (LIES!)

During this month since Thanksgiving, I have lied, lied and lied some more. I have lied to my family about the head count for Christmas Eve  and to my cousin in Florida about my plans for the next day. I have lied to our friends and neighbors who extended kind invitations to join their families …

december ( ENDS…)

On this last afternoon of the year, I light my window candles early. I do not want darkness in my home tonight. As I walk from room to room, turning on each white bulb, I am flooded with memories of Christmastime. When I was young, as young as I can remember, my Aunt Kitty and …

on “leaving day” (MEMORIES!)

I wake to the call of the loons. The pale morning light sneaks through the half-drawn shades. My eyes follow the path down to the pond. Out on the dock, the four red chairs are scattered right where we left them last night after the sun set behind the dark pine trees. We raised our …

The 5 a.m. call (WAKE UP!)

The phone rings. The digital reading on the alarm clock says 5 a.m. I close my eyes and fumble for the phone on the nightstand. RING, again! Still groping, I remember that the phone is not beside me. It’s in the living area of the bungalow. RING, RING, RING!!  It’s on the other side of …