Nobody warned me about my first landlord — an unstable drug-addicted psychiatrist.

Visible and invisible scars — I was suspicious when the nurse started the Baby Animals in the Wild video in the waiting room. I watched lion babies wrestle in the tall grass. I had just completed my first mammogram. You have little white spots on your pictures, the nurse explained. I needed to wait until…

Five things I am learning while reading David Copperfield — One of my first medium stories bombed. I assumed it would be funny to have Charles Dickens offer writing advice with a cockney accent. That story was too obscure and time-consuming for readers — who had to decode it — and poorly titled. A handful of people graciously read it…

Today is my favorite Valentines’ Day ever. That’s not because of flowers, chocolates, or poetic cards, or that I am falling in love or turning Hallmark cheesy as I age. I am celebrating my brother-in-law, Tom’s, new heart. Tom has received numerous cardiac treatments due to valve and artery issues…

Every morning is different when I pass my neighbor with her dog. Yesterday, she greeted me twice. She asked me how I was doing. We chatted about the weather. I liked how we connected, like singing a brief duet. Today, I greeted her, and she was in an entirely different…

As we ride along on tectonic plates — Plate tectonics brought me to Seattle. The metaphor of plate tectonics has kept me here for years. I thrive on the bipolar rhythms of geological repression and release. Polite appearances and secrets are undercut by socio-political explosions that distinguish Seattle. My history here has been both subdued and seismic. All…

The Pros and Cons of getting dental treatment at a teaching university — I thought it would be cheaper, which it would have been if I’d set up my account correctly. I was surprised I was invited into the student dental clinic so quickly. I was expecting it to have months of waiting for an appointment. But no. One of the residents had…

I loved going to parties up until my early 50s. I was energized by being around friends and making new friends. Socializing was enhanced by drinking. Nothing excessive. Just enough to take the edge off nervousness. I also loved to hang out in bars. I lived within walking distance of…

He rebelled at Graceland, in movie theaters, and whenever anyone got in his way — Sir, the Graceland tour guide addressed my husband, Jean-Luc, I’ll need you to step off the grass and join the rest of the group on the designated walkway. Jean-Luc refused to budge. He argued it was impossible to see over all the heads and stupid hats of the crowd. The…