"I’m not the cancer type." I believed that sentence with all my heart, the heart being the organ that is supposed to end my existence–many, many, many years from now, […]

In preparation for entering a PhD program, I wrote a little essay, "A Bend in Time", describing the experience of turning the corner in life. One corner. The corner. The […]

When I was a kid, my parents subscrived to catalogs from Dover Books, many of whose items were out of print, out of copyright, or too quirky for the big […]

I was napping on my cushion after a mildly strenous morning chasing the raccoon away from the compost and then hanging out with the guys who have a smoke and […]

The cancer saga began the night I tripped over Major in the dark. The cancer itself had apparently begun years earlier, but I had no idea of that. Major and […]

My dear one is gone. Yesterday was a fine day for him, his last, but none of us knew that. Tonight, no one will turn around three times before sinking […]

The sounds of people eating nauseates me. The sight is even worse. I can’t find a spot on the ferry where masticating jaws of my particularly disgusting species of ape […]

Were I not living in a more or less sensible country like Canada, this Mother’s Day could be my last. It could be, anyway, but for my faith in our […]

Last week, my ninety-two-year-old mother had her first heart attack. Not content with that, she also presented with a respiratory ailment and another of her famous UTIs when we caved […]