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Remembering Grams
My beloved grandma – Mary Alice – died last week. For those of you who follow my blog, you know that she was my sun, moon and stars: a wise-cracking, Florence Nightingale of a miracle savior. My universe and those of so many others will never be the same after her passing. The lights have…
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MLK and Me
I was going to write about something lighter today, the chuckly war stories shared amongst people who have experienced the horror of knee surgery. But, leave it to Oprah to get me off-track. Watching her special on Martin Luther King and his impact on our world today made me think about issues beneath my emotional…
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2007 – The Year in Review
Before starting the new year fresh, it’s common practice to put forth the best and worst list for the year that was. My 2007 was such a masterful, chaotic mish-mash of both good and misfortune that I’m not quite sure where to begin. But because I like a challenge, here’s my best shot. BEST Movie:…
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Itsy Bitsy Spider
Why does every autumn present the opportunity for close combat interaction with nature’s creepiest creatures? 2006 was the year of Bart the Missouri brown bat, alive and alert in my bedroom and now this arachnoid caper. I’ve lived alone in the Beltway jungle for what seems like a lifetime, a.k.a the number of years Kelsey…
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Postcards from the Stan: Let me Orientate you to how we Conversate in the Army
It is nothing short of miraculous that our fair, strong soldier in the ‘Stan is fighting every day for Uncle Sam and blogs more often than That Little Red-Headed Girl. Would it help my case if I told you I’ve been sick with a plague-like virus and spending each spare moment watching a 12-part BBC…
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Postcards from the Stan: What time is it anyway?
The eloquent, hilarious words that follow are those of my dear friend who I have been so fortunate to have remained close to all of these years since our collegiate days of greasy pizza and one too many bad boys. I often think she’s my better self: fitter, more reasoned, far braver but with the…
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Granny Chic: Why Old is Gold
It occurred to me today as the lady who squeezed in beside me at the half-off 80’s shirt rack was mumbling the same senseless phrase over and over like a deranged rosary chant, that vintage frock shopping is not for the faint of heart. It’s the great equalizer, attracting bargain hunters, big-city fashionistas and the…
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Hype or Hope? The 2006 Election Cycle
Late 60’s slain inspirer-in-chief, Bobby Kennedy, once said “one-fifth of the people are against everything all the time.” Watching the politico witch-hunt commercials of Election 2006, it seems like four-fifths might be more accurate. At a time when news from the Baghdad front is grim and the best that can be said from one of…
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Memoirs of a Harajuku Girl, Part Two: Adventures in Navigating Please and Thank You Society
Tokyo can best be described in four words: frightenly efficient and brazenly polite. There is no better place to go for the directionally challenged and those weary of today’s ill-mannered public. Got a business meeting? Look at the detailed map in English and Japanese drawn up by your colleague. Feeling far afield in the massive…
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Memoirs of a Harjuku Girl, Part One: Tokyo, The Feast
Gallivanting abroad these days isn’t the quixotic breathtakingly unique adventure it used to be. Let’s be honest, you’re more likely to experience the unfamiliar watching the Animal Channel than you are hopping a 747 off the Uncle Sam mainland into the continents beyond. KFCs and Ikeas are ubiquitous. There are however exceptions to the rule…