A Case of the Human Condition: How Millennial Are You?
Want to know whether you are a Millennial, a Gen Xer, a Boomer or a Silent Generation-er? Take this test on the Pew Forum website. According to this test, I’m a robust 38 years old. And I only cheated a little — I said I had texted within the last 24 hours. But that’s only […]
Guest Post From Jon: Does “Under God” Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Jon was shocked when a Federal Appeals Court ruled that including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Read more.
When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something
Christina hadn’t called. We had dropped her at the airport hours ago. The flight to Burbank takes only seventy minutes. She should be home by now. But Jon and I still hadn’t gotten the, “I’m home. The plane didn’t crash. My roommate remembered to pick me up, and we didn’t get mugged in the garage,” phone call. Read more.
A Child Is Born — And So Is a Grandpa
My friend Jake is a man in his prime. He does triathlons, reads good books, knows all the best hiking trails and drinks nice wines. Jake has never been anybody’s rickety old grandpa — until recently, when Jake’s daughter gave birth to a baby girl. Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: The Center of the Universe? It’s a Little Beach in Michigan, of Course
If I were drawing a map of the world, its center would be the little beach in Michigan where the Bass Lake outlet flows into the great, blue Lake Michigan. Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: Another Threat to Lake Michigan — Asian Carp
My Michigan friends are emailing me about the Asian carp threatening to enter Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes from the Illinois canal system. The carp would seriously endanger fish and other wildlife in the Lakes and local rivers.
Geographic Mobility in America — Watching My Grown-Up Kids Disappear
Most of my grandmother’s children – there were seven of them – lived out their lives within walking distance of their mother’s white frame house in Scottville, Michigan. Not my father. He moved away. So did I. So has my son. Read more.
A (Pillow) Case of the Human Condition: Time to Crack Open That Hope Chest and Live a Little
I waited too long to get married. By the time Jon and I said our vows, the contents of my hope chest had become outdated, old-fashioned, fussy — unusable. As a result, after thirty some years of marriage, I continue to be the owner of a dozen or so beautiful, hand-embroidered, virginal pillowcases. Read more.
A (Contagious) Case of the Human Condition: How a Mother of Preschool Kids Outsmarts the Mighty Microbe
I believe in microbes. Microbes are like God. You can’t hear them, taste them, smell them or see them with the naked eye. But you know they’re there. Lately, I’ve had more experiences with microbes than with God. I’ve been sick a lot. Read more.
Snow in California
Apparently, it snowed last night on our little hill in Oakland. There was snow all over the place at 11 a.m. — on cars, on the lawn around a local hilltop swimming pool, on Mt. Diablo to the East, and dripping and plopping off the trees.