On Father’s Day
My grandfather, who had left my grandmother many years before, killed himself when I was three months old. I never met him, though I’m told he heard my babbling over…
A Woman and A Courier: On the Death of Osama bin Laden
I heard the news at 7 in the morning, driving home from my boyfriend’s house in that half-asleep 7 in the morning way. I was looking at the trees which…
Swimming
I was taught to swim crawl in 6/8 time. Your legs were to be ramrod straight, working up and down like a pair of metronomes. ONE two three FOUR five…
Just Tell Me If You Get Another Car
I’ve been driving around town — specifically my town, my home town, this town of Iowa City that I so recently moved back to after seven years away. I’ve been…
Bon Voyage
Part of the ritual of leaving on a trip, at least if I am flying, is driving to Cody in the dark. Most flights out of COD leave early in…
On Home
Half a century later, I barely recognize it when I search the address on Google Maps and, via “Street view,” find myself face to face foliage overgrown, facade remodeled and…
That There Banana Bread
I was asked recently at an event for the recipe for the banana bread that I brought, and I thought I might as well put it here, in case anyone…
On Mother’s Day
So it is Mother’s Day again. I am generally opposed to holidays that seem to exist primarily to support the greeting card industry (I know, I know, Mother’s Day started…
Me & Bill Ayers: In Which I Pal Around With Terrorists, Remember My Father, and Reaffirm the First Amendment
The picture you’re looking at is my copy of Bill Ayers’s memoir Fugitive Days, inscribed to me in early November of 2001. The inscription reads To Laura — With hope…
The Sit-In, Ten Years Later
My friend the Rev. Sara says that she doesn’t care whether a service is high church or low church so long as it is not sloppy church. I always tell…