All he needed was 16 minutes to bring down the House – and the Senate, for that matter. In his Wednesday morning address to the U.S. Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the performance of his life. But for this former comedian, there was nothing funny about his familiar plea used by stand-up comics the world over: We’re dying here. Dressed in his trademark military-issue army green T-shirt and seated next to a Ukrainian flag, Zelensky spoke through an interpreter. He methodically explained how Russia was attacking his country’s right to live free. His people are dying, he said, and he needs help to stop it. Now. Unshaven yet unquestionably a…
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‘Testa dura’
It’s been 10 days since I tripped over my own feet trying to pick up a loose ball on the pickleball court. The bump on my forehead’s still a bit sore and my shiner’s more lavender than purple but not nearly as bad as it was – or could have been. The pickler gods were watching over me. Or maybe I’m just very lucky. Talk about March coming in like a lion. It’s not often you witness someone doing a face-plant into a hard (read: concrete) tennis court, not the elegant grass of Wimbledon or forgiving clay of the French Open. Nope, I landed hard and fast on my head,…
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Three Ws and an H
In journalism school, prospective reporters and broadcasters learn how to construct a news story using essential elements called “the five Ws and the H.” These useful tools are six basic questions reporters should ask to make sure they have covered all the bases: who, what, when, where, why and how. Who knows what’s taught now. “Hmm, let’s make a TikTok video using all 26 letters of the alphabet.” (Insert eye-roll emoji here.) Since it’s the last Saturday in February, I’m doing a blog post roundup using a variation on the five Ws and the H theme. At this moment, I’ve only got three Ws. But I’m retired and can blame…
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‘Nerdle’
With Valentine’s Day upon us, I thought I’d post something about love. By that, I mean Wordle, the online word game that has taken the planet by storm. Wordle is one of the few good things to emerge from the pandemic, other than embracing our natural hair color, finding more creative ways to celebrate birthdays, and giving educators and health care workers the praise they have deserved all along. According to a New York Times story headlined “Wordle is a Love Story,” Brooklyn-based software engineer Josh Wardle designed the game after he and his wife, Palak Shah, began playing the paper’s spelling bee and crossword puzzles regularly after the pandemic began. Wardle…
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Brisket, beavers and bathrooms
Somewhere on I-75 South in Georgia – The first sign of trouble appeared on a billboard near Calhoun, about 70 miles north of Atlanta. A colorful roadside ad featured what looked like a smiling, cartoonish chipmunk with a black background and this screaming-yellow message: “BUC-EE’S … A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME.” Rebecca: “Ever heard of Buc-ee’s?” Me: “Nope. Maybe they bought Stuckey’s.” Rebecca: “Yeah, right. Buc-ee’s bought Stuckey’s. Funny.” Then another billboard: “BUC-EE’S … BEAVER NUGGETS!” Me: “Guess it’s a beaver and not a chipmunk.” Rebecca: “Yeah, definitely a beaver.” It’s a quiet ride for a few more miles. Then, yet another sign: ‘BUC-EE’S … ALWAYS OPEN. 165 MILES.’” Me: “That’s wrong on so many levels.” A few…
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All Greek to me
What to do about omicron, a COVID-19 variant that is monstrously more infectious than delta, its predecessor, yet somewhat milder in symptoms? I have no idea. As the recent target of this slippery foe’s unwanted advances, I can tell you this: Don’t catch it. After countless weeks of skyrocketing case numbers, new data shows sharp declines over the past week. The omicron surge, like you-know-who’s hairline, is receding. Omicron. Sounds like an underground progressive metal band, around since 2014, based in Hong Kong. Which, it is. (Truly. I don’t always make stuff up.) Says the quartet’s guitarist Li Heng Chan in Rolling Stone: “Whether for the right or wrong reasons, we’ve…
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Positively optimistic
This week, I planned on blogging about Betty White, who would have turned 100 years old on January 17. She died peacefully in her sleep on New Year’s Eve after suffering a mild stroke on Christmas Day. A sad way to end yet another tough year. Seemed everyone was hoping she’d hang on just a little longer. Ahead of her centennial year, Betty opened up to People magazine on how she was feeling about turning 100. It was weird seeing the magazine’s gushing cover grace store aisles after she had passed. No. 1 rule of good journalism: Don’t write something as if it has happened when it actually hasn’t. (See Chicago Tribune, Nov.…
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Dreams, daggers and democracy
“Did you have any bad dreams last night?” Whenever I get asked that question by Rebecca before our first cup of coffee, I already know the answer: “No. Maybe. Yes. Why?” “Because your yelling scared the heck out of me and the dog, for that matter. Again. So, was it about the chase thing this time?” asked my beloved “CSI” fan, feared by all criminal minds who dare to pixelate her 60-inch TV screen. This time. Meaning it was not the first time. She’s Lt. Columbo with lipstick. The only missing prop was a dusty lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. My recurring dream was back. It’s always about the same thing:…
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Bye, Felicia
After 32 blog posts in the past 12 months, here’s my final one for 2021. Not a whole lot more to say, is there? Here’s to deep breaths, continued kindness and days anchored in gratitude. Thanks for reading. And Happy New Year!
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Over the Noom?
Weight loss reminds me a lot of hiking in the Grand Canyon. One hour walking down the trail takes you twice as long to climb back up. One step forward, two steps back. And that, or so it seems, is the delicate dance of dieting. Since my mid-40s, I’ve struggled with my weight. Back then, it had a lot to do with perimenopause, that time of a woman’s life before menopause, when her ovaries gradually make less estrogen. With perimenopause, you may experience hot flashes, irregular periods, mood swings and insomnia. Likely all before noon but not necessarily in that order. Quite often, amid this internal combustion, a woman’s metabolism grinds to…
