On the train on the way home tonight, I saw graffiti on the wall behind a fire escape of one of the apartment buildings near the tracks. The graffiti, beautifully drawn, read simply "Air". It seemed to me like a cry for something not easily found in the city, desperation for relief from the confines... Continue Reading →
I don't know if you have noticed this, but my family relies heavily on humor for communication and bonding. When we all lived in one place, we'd spend evenings watching stand-up comic specials or movie comedies, share clips of favorite comedy TV shows, endlessly quote lines from funny movies, and had informal competitions to make... Continue Reading →
Our basement flooded last week. Not the whole thing, just about a third of it, and the disruption was minimal. But I had to move furniture out of the space, including two large bookcases. As I moved items from the shelves, I started setting aside the things I would simply get rid of instead of... Continue Reading →
I've never really had "peers." When I was in my twenties and having kids, most of my peers were doing normal stuff for 20-year-olds, so I couldn't relate to them. I couldn't hang out with classmates at university, because I had responsibilities at home, and none of my classmates wanted to hang out with me... Continue Reading →
They didn't have a lot of money. The added responsibility of a second household strained the seams of an already stretched budget. In the time since he started working in Portland, they'd only seen each other in person three times, twice as a result of airline tickets purchased for him by generous relatives. His job,... Continue Reading →
Meg Currell 