Weathering a Storm of the Heart

Heartache is a creature discomfort unlike any other known to us humans. Unlike the usual sadness or despair we experience over things like a lost job, lack of parental support, or not having as many social opportunities as we'd like, matters of lost or damaged loves are particularly and broadly wrenching and tend to send …

Crashing: Thoughts on a Bus

On the bus, I looked out the dirty window and wondered how many people out there wanted to survive themselves like they want to survive the world. As I stared out the window wondering, a truck knocked into the bus three blocks from my stop. The truck driver got out and yelled at the bus …

Snow Day in Brooklyn!

This afternoon I filled my travel mug with coffee, laced up my snow boots and walked around Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill in Brooklyn. This is what I saw: The buildings are old and lovable with their many shades of weathered red brick, fortressed in by high, steep, often crumbling front steps and scraggly branched …

‘Still Alice’ and the Empathetic Eye

According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in three seniors are diagnosed with Alzheimer's or some other form of dementia. There are currently 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, and a new patient is diagnosed every 67 seconds. Given the striking number of families this disease affects, the discussion about a cure and preventative methods is …

Period Films: My Love of Other Eras

Romantic period films and longing through my ages It seems to me that there are not many films that portray longing in all its greatness these days. As our overloaded brains tap out under the pressures of keeping “must-do’s” in order, our patience for creative work grows shorter in span. We want what we see …