Potluck (no Jello!)
Single stories on a topic.
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I’ve had intrusive thoughts that I’m being mutilated by sharp objects, usually broken glass or knives, for most of my adult life – since I was 28. I’ve had years, even multiple years, when I didn’t have them and many, many more where they have repeatedly banged on my brain and battered my psyche. In Read more
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Imagine you’re an early human out picking huckleberries. You’re feeling giddy in the warm afternoon sun after huddling in your cave, enduring ten days of cold spring rain. There you are, filling your basket, cheerfully belting out, “Oh My Darling Clementine” with berry juice dripping down your chin. Suddenly, the other side of the berry Read more
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Come in! Come in! Welcome to our home! All is ready. We have swept away the old, anticipating the new, anticipating you. We have even dressed up a little (or a lot!) to celebrate the occasion of you. We have prepared special foods, delectable treats. The wine is poured, the table is set. Come. Welcome Read more
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My practice this week is 30 seconds a day of being in love with myself. This is not a positive affirmation self-love practice. This is an experiment, not in words, but in perspective. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. I’m spending 30 in love. Silly in love. Smiling in love. Eyes lighting up in Read more
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I love refrigerator art. Pithy, profound sayings pasted on magnets. It fits my attention span for positivity. (Mom enjoys it, too, which makes for sweet interludes in museum gift shops.) Currently displayed, surrounding Tigger’s exuberance, are magnets my sister contributed. The round, white magnets each highlight a virtue: humble, gracious, loving, generous, patient, kind. Well, Read more
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Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2016. Think of everything that’s happened since then. Seriously! Trump, global pandemic, 100+ days of riots in Portland, category four hurricanes, insurrection…. Much is made of the stark political and social divisions within the US. Is it any wonder? With just eight planets, there is no Read more
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Mom once asked me if there was anything I would like her to do to show her support for me as a lesbian. I replied, “Be able to say LGBTQ without stumbling.” That’s what I tell any straight person who asks me how to be an ally. It’s a simple, straight-forward request. It doesn’t require Read more
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Vignette 1 M: Do you like a lot of mayo in your tuna fish or a little? Me: Little, please. M: You don’t prefer Miracle Whip, do you? Me: Definitely not. M: Would you like the bread toasted? Me: Please. I love toast. M: How would you like your sandwich cut? Me: (Laughing in disbelief) Read more
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Surrendering is tough. Think about General Lee surrendering to General Grant at Appomattox. At the beginning of that day, April 9, 1865, Lee still planned to fight. By the end of the day, surrounded and out of options, he had surrendered. It happens that quickly sometimes, even after years of fighting. You wake up believing Read more
The Hammer Times 