Dear Nicholas, I was lying on the floor staring out the hall window– the spot where we get the best phone reception– involved in conversation about a friend who is seriously ill. While I watched, a pink cloud filled half the window frame, covering a huge expanse of sky. Pink light? I moved around […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I’m talking about my own– my rage. Tonight when I got the news that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died, my mind–which could have been lingering on “what a heroic woman, thank you for all you’ve done!” instead went almost instantly to elaborate imaginings of what the Supreme Court without her could do to […] Read More

I hesitate to say this, Nicholas, even to friends, maybe especially to friends, for reasons that will surely be obvious.  But I’m going to say it here and now because for me it’s a little breakthrough that may give me a little more ease in the world. Or a lot more. Here it is: seeing […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I think I’m getting to be more of an introvert. I understand this happens with age, but staying home for seven months (excepting runs to grocery, bank drive-through, etc) seems to have speeded up the process. When I moved my office plants home in early March, I felt a little silly imagining I […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, In the midst of the current pestilence plus a wildly dangerous hurricane spinning toward the Gulf Coast, the loss of a gathering place–a shopping center cafeteria–may seem like small potatoes. But these potatoes are a big deal to me and a lot of others in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The Raleigh paper announced today […] Read More

Cobwebs in my car?  Nicholas, I gotta tell ya: this business of staying home for months has produced some surprising little lockdown quirks at my house. Two messy people in a log house in the woods do expect surprises–like the possum that once got into our semi-outdoor washing machine–but these months at home have produced […] Read More

Terrible things happened a while back in my North Carolina hometown, Nicholas. I just read more and learned a lot I hadn’t known. My reaction is especially raw and personal because of how much I love the town and feel part of its history.  It’s an old shame that doesn’t feel old; I guess that’s […] Read More

Hi, Nicholas, I put together a list of activities I’m finding calming in these unsettling times. Eight highly-personal-to-me self-soothers or restorers of balance. I’m convinced that inner equilibrium is a small step toward health and world peace. The List 1. Contributing to favored causes in several smaller amounts on separate days instead of one larger […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I’m looking for a racial equality and justice group that pretty much agrees with me on strategy and goals. Has to be non-violent, faster-moving than simply a long-term education approach, and not insistent on total immediate dismantling of law enforcement, instead on radical rebuilding. Obsessively Searching Have been agitatedly looking, asking for recommendations on […] Read More

Dear Nicholas, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that I’m not a do-gooder. This was starting to bug me even before Covid and the killing of yet another black man. I don’t volunteer except for a little political campaigning; in the meantime, most of my family and friends are doing all kinds of […] Read More