How 10,000 People Gathered Online to Reflect and Celebrate — Something special happened on August 12, 2023. I’m still on a high from the impact. Imagine — in these times of toxic banality, discord and negativity in the world of social media — a day of intense engagement, community and good spirits in the online world. A day that brought…

There’s something about the grand natural landscape of California that brings a lump to my throat. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago, on the first national Juneteenth holiday, when my niece invited me to hike around in the Sonoma County hillside above the ranch where she keeps…

Strange Attitudes about the Nature of Work — Two things people commonly say about work give me the creeps. (1) “ARE YOU STILL WORKING?” This is usually asked of people who — like me — have reached an age when, ideally, you don’t have to keep doing work that pays in order to put food on the table…

Few things are more evocative than a piece of music that was the soundtrack for a special experience in your life. Since the death of my husband Raphael nearly two years ago, I had been reluctant to look through and play our old collection of music CDs. One in particular…

We worship the idea of following our dreams. But what if they take you down hopeless paths and keep you from evolving? I love turning ideas on their heads. The flashes of insight I jot down often go along the lines of: “This…

The Himalayas? WRONG! The Rockies? WRONG! The Andes? WRONG! I don’t often think about mountains. They’re certainly beautiful, awesome and inspiring. I like hiking mountain foothills when I can. But I don’t normally approach mountains with scientific curiosity. That all changed when I read the popular 2004 science classic A…

I’m fascinated with words. . . and totally promiscuous about it. Words in English, words in other languages, intellectual words, poetic words, slang and pop culture words, technical words, bureaucratic words, intimate words, public life words, serious words, funny words, made-up words. Recently, I was talking with a neighbor —…

As we near the end of Black History Month 2023, I’ve got to tell you about a powerful one-hour TV historical docudrama film that is available for anyone to stream free from PBS. Don’t miss it! ABOLITION is the most recent of the many one-act dramas by California playwright Rick…

Last Monday, the 6th of February, I was driving back home on the open highway from visiting a friend an hour away. Late afternoon California slanting sun, little traffic, listening idly to NPR radio. A perfect, calm, emotionally quiet ‘now’ moment. Suddenly, the news switched to an excited report on…