April 2013
1 post
Escape Route
I’m standing in apartment 3B, over my neighbor Savannah’s bed. Since our tiny studios have the same floor plan whenever one of us rearranges we invite the other over to show off whatever brilliant space-saving idea we’ve come up with to improve our living environment and also to share how happy this decision has made us. Savannah, a social worker, and I have been neighbors...
March 2013
1 post
Valerie Harper ...
I stood at the stage door clutching my autograph book praying I would be able to say something, anything, when Valerie Harper was in front of me. The stage door opened and shut a few times. False alarms. I contemplated turning away; perhaps the reality of this person would ruin the image I had created of her in my mind. This had happened to me before with other celebrities, but before I had...
October 2012
1 post
Luke
I wrote this for a class in 2007. I have not gone back and edited any of it. I want to share this because of the horrific Nanny story in the News this week. As someone over a dozen New York City families have trusted with their lives, their cars, homes and most importantly, children, I feel a deep bit of sorrow as details emerge. The interviews of moms in the neighborhood keep saying,...
July 2012
1 post
For The Men I...
When I was in third grade I wrote in my “diary” (which was just a purple spiral notebook with a unicorn on it) that I wanted to have sex. I knew what sex was (at least the physical part not the emotional) but I didn’t really want to have it. A friend came over for a playdate and told me that I had to write the name of a boy from our class that I wanted to do-it with. I wrote Jerry, the red headed,...
July 2011
1 post
Saturday Morning in Amagansett
He scrunches his nose while small laughs come through the gap between his two front teeth. He knows he is misbehaving but also knows that there is a chance he will get away with it if he’s cute enough. His father, spatula in hand, turns from the stove and looks the boy in his eyes. Not pointing, but perhaps directing the utensil towards the child he says, “Son. I think you’re going to need some...
February 2011
1 post
Chicken Mom
My mother has been having some issues with a new addition to her family, her rooster. When she bought six chicks she didn’t know one was a male. My mother and step-father have always been big bacon and eggs people. They are the types who have breakfast for dinner. The idea was that their little friends would produce eggs for consumption. And produce they have. I’ve been home twice since these new...
September 2010
11 posts
The Window
When my parents announced a weekend trip to Kentucky my siblings both heard, “To grandmothers’ house we go.” I on the other hand (the one always stuck in the middle) heard, “Well Chela, because you’re the shortest, that’s why.” Don’t get me wrong, I loved to spend time with my grandparents but the seven hours car trip was not something I looked forward to, especially since I never got to sit by...
What Else Have You Lied to Me About, MOM?
Over a recent dinner I was telling a friend of mine about some of my childhood pets. Fluffy was a huge white Samoyed who was always trying to escape our yard. We were forced to keep her on a leash attached to a close line in our backyard. She had plenty of room to run but her line would stop her a few feet from the gate that enclosed our back yard. One afternoon Fluffy managed to get loose. The...
Garden of Little Lambs
Seven babies Six boys Five pregnancies Four stillborns Three headstones Two survivors One girl Me
I'm Sorry
I’m sorry I broke the lamp and blamed my sister, I’m sorry I got caught. I’m sorry I set the living room on fire. I’m sorry that I told you I had a diary and wrote I wanted to have sex, I’m sorry you read it. I’m sorry I stole 32 cents from your change dish and looked under the dresser, I’m sorry those magazines weren’t out of my reach. I’m sorry I...
Downtown Date
“I’m down stairs” he says, “I’ll be right down” she replies into the phone. As she tosses her cell into her bag she smiles and grabs her coat. It’s been a warm spring day but she knows in a few short hours the Manhattan evening will bring a cool breeze. As she waits for the elevator she applies a dark red lipstick to her mouth, her teeth are freshly...
A Lost Shell
I hate that when I tell people I am a Nanny they ask me what my “real” job is. Rasing children, the future of our world, is not only one of the most difficult jobs I can think of but it is one of the noblest ones. While as a childcare provider the majority of teaching falls into your hands, every so often a child can teach you a great lesson. In the summer of 2007 my five year old charge Luke did...
Girl on the Train
As I approach the holding area in Penn Station a voice echoes “ Hamptons and Montauk track 19”
That’s the cue to scurry as fast as you can to your track and hope you get a seat on the train. I try to keep up with the anxious stampede of weekend vacationers and the summer Friday crowd that ended their work day at 1:00. As a true New Yorker, I don’t wait for the passengers to exit...
Ruth's Ducks
“Shelly, just pick something. Anything,” my mother mumbled in a toy aisle at Walmart, trying not to sound frustrated.
“I know but I want it to be really good,” I said, followed by a closed mouth smile to highlight my dimples, something she found irresistible.
This around- ten-dollars-gender-neutral-grab-bag-gift choice was more pressure than my eight-year-old decision-making skills could...
I'm a Writer
Why I Write
On the first day of a creative writing class I was asked to answer a question, “Why do you write?” My mind went blank. I could not think of anything but the question itself. It wasn’t that I didn’t necessarily know the answer to the question; it was that no one had ever asked me that question before, why do I write?
Suddenly a bunch of reasons popped into my head, I think its fun, it...
Dear Younger Me,
Your path in life will not always be easy, or clear, or feel like it’s going anyplace good, but you will always know that you are loved. You will be optimistic and make the best out of every situation (with the exception of a few teenage years when you are convinced everyone is out to get you. But I can assure you, they are not). You have to experience a situation to really benefit from it, to...
Popsicles
My senior year of high school I entered a vocal competition as a soloist. The week prior to the competition my choir teacher, Mrs. Steege, arranged an after school rehearsal with my accompanist. When I arrived at the choir room I found a woman in her early 20’s sitting behind the piano with long red hair. Her smile illuminated the room, she stood up walked over to me and stuck out her right...
August 2010
2 posts
Taxi?
Have you ever seen a New Yorker be passive when hailing a cab? Neither have I.
Be honest, have you have tried to steal a cab from another person? Picture it. A busy corner in the Meatpacking on a Thursday night, its 2 am and just remembered you have a 9am staff meeting. Suddenly you semi-regret the last two shots of tequila (definitely not the first three, I mean come on, it’s Thursday. Hell,...
“Can I take your order?”
I have been ordering the same cup of coffee, at the same location, from the same woman, at practically the same damn time for almost a year. The conversation goes something like this…
“How may I help you?”
“Good morning, I would like a small cup of coffee with 4 creams, that’s it.”
“How many sugars?”
“None.”
“No sugar?”
“Nope, I’m sweet enough as it is,” I say with a smile before...
