The first time I heard Billie Holiday was in college, sitting on the floor of my friend's apartment. Her voice matched the scratchy quality of the vinyl album, warped and uneven, plaintive and faded. I was deep in Ella Fitzgerald at the time, whose robust and athletic singing captured my musical imagination. Billie's voice was... Continue Reading →
I've been thinking lately about the idea of "grace," something I first heard about in Christian circles, when I traveled in them. The grace of God. Saying grace. Hail Mary, full of Grace. An ambiguous idea that, as a Catholic, I had trouble grasping. In my understanding, God loved us--as long as we were good.... Continue Reading →
I had to ask for a seatbelt extender on a recent flight. This is new for me, a product of menopause hitting all the right places and a slow recovery from a knee injury. And, you know, I like food. I was flying to a wedding, old family friends I haven't seen for years. I... Continue Reading →
My paying gig as front-desk customer service at a community arts center means I get to talk to a lot of people. Some people are signing up for classes with Portland Parks, some are visiting our art gallery, some are looking for something else altogether. What I do every day is sorting out what people... Continue Reading →
There hasn't been an update about my daughter for a while, because she's been off at school being a student. That's unremarkable except in the sense that there were doctors who didn't think she'd be strong enough to hold a pencil, and she's about to finish her Bachelor's, but whatever. She's a person who's in... Continue Reading →
Meg Currell 