It’s not so much a list of accomplishments as a portrait of a life
I’ve been many things throughout the course of my life, and I suppose they all add up to who I am now.
I am a small-college-town, Ohio-born daughter, a wife, a mom of cats. …
Twenty years later, as violent crime increases in my suburban Cleveland neighborhood, I’m reliving the trauma
Heading west across the Kinzie Street Bridge over the Chicago River after work one night, I saw him approaching me on the deserted sidewalk. Head down, bracing against the frosty winter air, his scarf was pulled up over his face, bandana-style.
That itself wasn’t cause for alarm. It was early…
Riff Summer Challenge
Loudon Wainright III’s “The Swimming Song” is my personal time machine
Loudon Wainright III’s “The Swimming Song”, the first track from his 1973 album Attempted Mustache, is the epitome of summer. I’ve always loved it for its lilting simplicity.
It’s a perfect time machine song, transporting me back to days when life was far less complicated. …
Vegetarian Cuisine
10 delicious meat-free recipes to help you celebrate
Lately, it seems there is a national or international “day” for just about everything, and foods are no exception.
Stuffed Mushroom Day, anyone? Something on a Stick Day? Or, let’s celebrate Clams on the Half Shell Day!
How oddly specific.
Across the United States, we’re getting ready for Independence Day…
If your neighbor leaves a bag on your doorstep, rejoice!
Hooray! It’s zucchini season in Northeast Ohio where I live. Chances are (if you reside in North America) it’s in season where you live too.
If you don’t think this is cause for celebration, read on!
I recognize that zucchini’s time of plenty may evoke memories of zucchini bread, a…
I wanted a flipping SANDWICH but I got a lesson in meditation instead
There’s nothing in the refrigerator today.
Well, that’s a flat-out lie, as you can imagine, so let me clarify. There’s nothing that I want to eat. The span between grocery cycles is winding down and I’m in that no-man’s-land of the last few days before I shop.
While I’m feeling…
When my favorite breweries switched to aluminum, it was time to rethink my anti-can bias
Drinking beer from cans has always created a low-end association in my mind. It takes me back to being a teenager, chugging Busch or Natty Light in the back of someone’s car on a random Tuesday night as we careened through the Southeast Ohio hills on winding country roads.
I…
Travel, freedom, symbolism, and escape
It used to be you could hop a train to just about anywhere. You’d have your choice of an express or a local, with regular, dependable routes.
These days, it’ll take you 15 hours to get from Harrisburg, PA to Cleveland, a 325-mile jaunt through the Allegheny Mountains.
I, unfortunately…
When friends die, music helps us grieve and carries us through
How do we explain the passing of people in our lives who were supposed to be immortal? …
Surprise! Money isn’t one of them.
In some ways, it’s almost comical — News Break, the platform writers love to hate. Whether in Medium articles we’ve written (myself included) or posts within the Facebook News Break Official Creator Community, we grumble and moan, carp and whine.
We complain that our articles aren’t published fast enough or…
