I grew up in rural Maine in the 1960s. We lived a couple of miles outside of town. When I finished grammar school and prepared to enter the seventh grade at the age of 13, my parents gave me permission to ride my bicycle to school, at least until the first snowfall, at which time […]
It’s Personal
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Year After the Women’s March
Last year at this time, I was preparing for the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. — crossing the country to don my “pussy hat” and raise my fist alongside my 80-year-old mother and my 18-year-old daughter. A loud contingent of people — both in person and on social media — asked me, “What’s the point […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Reunion
I am in a state of panic, deep-cleaning the refrigerator. I have also vacuumed the garage and deadheaded every petunia on the property. In a text this morning, I told my friend Peri that attending tonight’s high school reunion felt like opening a grave. Later, while obsessively cobwebbing the upstairs windows, I think it’s not […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Bright Lights, Small Town
Growing up in Humboldt County, there was nothing more exciting than the day my parents would announce that we were going to the Fair. They would bundle us kids into the car and make the rambling trek to Ferndale. As we crossed the bridge and headed into the summer fog, I would wait for that […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Fear: Karaoke
Fear is exhausting. Constantly fighting, flying or freezing leaves me with nothing but fatigue. Everyone has fears and phobias, but I have so many: heights, drowning, clowns, abandonment, failure, Ferris wheels, horses … the list goes on. When I say I’m tired of living in fear, I’m not speaking metaphorically. It’s time to face a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Vagaries of Family Survival
One of my favorite purveyors of family accounts was my great aunt Violet’s treasured cousin Ramona. Back in the days of her spritely late 80s (she passed away when she was 97), I would pick her up from her home in Eureka (sometimes with little or no notice) and take her to visit Auntie Vi […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Still Standing: The legacy of Women’s Grove
The instant I stepped out of my car and into Women’s Grove, I was hit by the scent of rain-soaked earth and redwood bark — a smell that I will always associate with my childhood. My parents would load us into the station wagon and drive us to this grove, where we would tumble out […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Paddling Forward
With the smell of coffee wafting from a nearby restaurant, we place our paddle boards on the glassy surface of Humboldt Bay. Earlier that morning, my husband had woken me and suggested we take our boards out to the King Salmon canals. Now he waits until I am safely launched before pushing his board out […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Starting Place: Resources to #Resist
Here are the numbers Humboldt County residents need to call our representatives: Senator Dianne Feinstein Washington, D.C. Office: (202)224-3841 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. 20510 San Francisco Office: (415)393 0707 One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104 Senator Kamala Harris Washington, D.C. Office: (202)224-3553 112 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Give Up
When you reach a certain age and are still unattached, saying the words “I believe in love,” sounds affected and masochistic. Love is a rough deal, and if — like me — you’re still dating in the third decade of your life, the following things have probably happened to you: Your heart has been melted […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Steamy Windows
My husband and I used to have a lot of sex in the car. Once upon a time because we were young and in love and didn’t have a place of our own. And then there was the second phase, many years later, when we no longer lived with parents or roommates, but — alas […]