I have a screened-in porch, which I grew to appreciate during the pandemic. During those first three summers, I lugged an inflatable mattress out there because I wanted to have a comfortable place to read and smoke weed. I called it my flop bed. This year, I bought an actual chaise. It’s not quite as comfortable as the mattress, but it looks better.
Screens are key in New England due to the mosquitoes.
I like the nature sounds and tree view on my porch.
Have you noticed how you get asked: “Do you feel safe at home?” at every medical appointment these days? It’s like a law or something. Without a second thought, I always answer yes. I never worry about being hurt by someone in my home.
Sadly, millions of people, especially women and children, cannot truthfully answer yes to that question. In my town, a beautful, promising high school senior was murdered by her father in 2010, when my daughter was a freshman at the same school. It was surreal, almost unfathomable.
It’s easy to take safety for granted, but it’s not a given. Men especially should think about that every time they want to complain about things like “safe spaces” or “trigger warnings.” The reality is that many, many people don’t feel safe in their own homes or relationships and can’t easily get out. If there’s a gun in the home, that makes everything worse. If you haven’t seen it, the series Maid on Netflix is great.
One last thing, I had a male colleague give me a hard time because I complained about female staff members being expected to walk to a remote parking lot (under an expressway in Boston) after an event that we were all required to attend. He just coudn’t understand how I could bring up PARKING, when he was dealing with so many important and stressful details! Maybe if he’d ever felt afraid enough to lace his keys between his fingers on a dark or deserted street, he’d have understood a bit better.
Apparently this way is better and safer for your hand
I once told a friend that, in the event of a nuclear attack on Boston, my plan was to put the kids in the minivan, hit “recirculate” on the a/c, and drive west. Surely, “recirculate” would keep the radiation out of our air supply. She laughed.
By the way, I did not enjoy the film “Oppenheimer.” It’s too long and confusing and mostly about politics. I couldn’t keep all the white guys straight. I thought it would have been better as a miniseries, with new characters rolled out each week. The blast scene was cool though. Terrifyingly cool.
I feel peace in the ocean. There’s something about floating on the waves that gives me a sense of perspective. You literally become part of the earth’s surface and know that you and your problems are but a tiny speck in a much bigger universe.
Living in New England, it can be hard to find ocean water warm enough to bring you peace. This website is good for checking ocean temperatures.
My children and me enjoying warm Rhode Island waters, August 2010
As a girl growing up in suburban America in the 70s, I wanted to be a public school teacher and so did all my friends. We LOVED Mrs. Murphy, our first grade teacher, so much that she accidentally got called “mom” several times a day. We played school outside of school all the time.
My grandmother was a kindergarten teacher in Worcester for decades and she would bring me into her class for a day about once per school year. Her classroom, like many, was a magical world unto itself. I’m pretty sure that parents back then would never have dreamed of intervening with the teachers’ plans.
My daughter also dreamed of being a teacher for many years and frequently conducted “school” for her stuffed animals. My mother was briefly a teacher in the 60s, before getting pregnant and losing her job because teachers couldn’t be pregnant then.
It’s so sad to read how horribly teachers are mistreated and bullied by far-right conservative parents and politicians in many US states now. It really is the most important job in the world.
PS: I highly recommend watching ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” created by Quinta Brunson. In my opinion, it’s the best show on network TV now.
If you were going to open up a shop, what would you sell?
Weren’t the old “penny candy” stores great? You could go in with a buck and get a paper bag full of sugar in various forms. From rolled bubblegum cigarettes, to candy bead bracelets, giant wax lips, wafer saucers with crunchy sprinkles inside or multi-colored candy dots stuck to something resembling cash register tape, the choices were thrilling!
You could pretend many things with with your candy props – from wearing fancy jewelry or taking communion, to smoking or making out. And the adults couldn’t have cared less.
In an alternate universe, I’m an amazing singer with perfect pitch. I perform as a backup vocalist with big name acts from the 80s (Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Peter Gabriel, etc.) and this has allowed me to travel the world in style—experiencing adoring crowds and first-class hotels with anonymity. (Nobody recognizes a backup singer when they’re out on the street!) I am paid extremely well for this work and I use my extra money to buy a beach house with an in-ground lap pool overlooking the ocean.
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.
I took this week off work and was planning to do fun “stay-cation” activities, but it’s pouring (again).
Therefore, the “entirely uninteresting” news story I chose to read was weather-related. It was about how two young quarterbacks deal with practicing in the rain at the New England Patriots training camp. Spoiler alert: they are both up for the challenge!
It connects to my life in that I could probably get up off the couch and do some yoga or something, given that Zappe and Jones are out there flinging wet footballs.
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