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Six Degrees from Someone Famous |
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By bryce on
1/22/2009 9:29 AM
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Do you remember the game called Six Degrees of Separation? Wikipedia defines it as “the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is no more than six ‘steps’ away from each person on Earth.”
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Let Me Entertain You |
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By bryce on
1/12/2009 1:11 PM
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If not for guests, then when else will we try these fancy pants recipes? It’s not that I don’t love my husband, but if we can’t finish off a pot of chili without getting bored, then fixing an 8-serving veggie lasagna for just the two of us is not such a good idea. I know I’m not the only one who pounces on the fact that company is coming to try out something new.
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Ghosts of Christmases Past |
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By bryce on
12/29/2008 7:26 PM
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As I write this, I’m about to collapse on the sofa with a mug of soynog, awash in memories of Christmases past. In the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol,” it’s the ghost from Scrooge’s past who bears the most unmitigated cheer, reminding him of a time when everything was warm and bright and promising. Try as I might, I can’t remember every Christmas of my past. Once you reach a certain age, only a few stand out, for better or worse. But there are certainly a few . . .
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Family “Life” |
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By bryce on
12/12/2008 9:20 AM
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This time of year, it’s hard not to think about families in less than happy ways. Magazines dispense earnest advice on getting through the holidays with the in-laws, and movies like “Four Christmases” put all the agony up on the big screen. I can’t help but think that maybe articles like these, whether from 1948 or 2008, showing how very different families can be, bring more reassurance than angst. Despite many people’s belief that there is one perfect American Christmas – everybody gathered for Mom’s cookies, heaps of presents, a fresh-cut tree, and snow on the window pane – I’ll bet if you ask around, you’ll learn just how varied our families, and our holiday traditions, are.
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The Good Enough Holiday |
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By bryce on
12/2/2008 2:39 PM
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I’ve been reminded lately by someone near and dear to me that I talk about perfection a bit too much. I guess this makes me a perfectionist, and he wants to know where I got this – um – imperfection. My answer would have to be “my parents,” but I don’t see this as a problem. They really could do so many things perfectly.
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Calendar Autobiography |
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By bryce on
11/14/2008 1:49 PM
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I’ve always liked calendars. Measuring out the days, keeping track of things, gives you a sense of where you’ve been and where you’re going – even if where you’ve been is “Flu shot” and where you’re going is “Take sofa to dump.” I was never good at keeping a diary, which might seem odd for a writer until you consider many writers’ need for a sense of an audience. It’s lonely enough pounding away at the keyboard (or just sitting there chewing your fingernails in despair).
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California Dreaming |
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By bryce on
11/4/2008 2:20 PM
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“All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray.” So begins one of my all-time favorite songs. I love it for its harmonies and the way it brings back that long ago time when I was young and the Mamas and the Papas were all over the radio, not because I love the time of year when the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
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Try to Remember |
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By bryce on
10/4/2008 10:27 AM
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Twenty five years ago, I spent the week of Christmas in California with my first extended family. Much of that vacation is only a blur, and some of it was a nightmare. But what’s been driving me nuts lately is one little detail I thought I’d never forget – the name of a winery we visited. I know we went to two: Robert Mondavi, and – the other one. For years, I knew the name. Any time the subject of wineries or Napa Valley came up, I could easily summon both names and mention, either casually or smugly, “Oh yeah, I’ve been to Mondavi and” – the other one.
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Band of Gold |
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By bryce on
9/18/2008 9:14 AM
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Our esteemed publisher’s recent wedding has me thinking about marriage lately. I know this sounds lame, but I used to sit at meetings and go around the table looking for wedding rings. I already knew which of my coworkers were married and which were not, but I took a perverse pleasure in checking out the ring fingers on their left hands.
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Feeling Competitive |
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By bryce on
9/3/2008 11:24 AM
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You’d think that poetry, of all things, would be about as uncompetitive as you can get.
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