Canned Laughter

My Dad traveled constantly when I was little. Mum worked through her loneliness with enormous projects like wallpapering every room in the house and repairing antiques and refinishing furniture and maintaining the most beautiful garden in our neighborhood. The woman could do anything and she did everything.
The thing is, she would work until she lost [...]

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So Friday was the big night. Bear was already gone to rehearsal when I arrived home from work. My parents came to the house an hour early, worried that they would arrive too late. We headed off to the big theater up the way and had a very frightening time getting them up and down [...]

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Here’s an interesting tidbit:  The most frequently played song in Britain’s public places over the past 75 years is Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harem. More Britain’s have heard about 16 Vestal Virgins leaving for the coast, than the “White Cliffs of Dover” or longing for “Yesterday”. How can this be?
Now, I’m as up [...]

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My sisters and I were amazed by TV kids. They were like kids from some sort of alternate reality. They were clean and polite and actually enjoyed one another’s company. In all of TV world, there was only one set of siblings we could instantly relate to. For years we copied [...]

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A great calamity befell our our nation almost two years ago and living out here in the wilds of Texas, I didn’t get the memo.  When I found out about it this week, there was much pulling of hair, gnashing of teeth, and inconsolable wailing. The very core of my Old Line WASP being was [...]

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I want, nay I need a kitchen step stool.  Do you remember these?

My maternal grandmother had a shiny red one in her kitchen.  My paternal Granny had a charming yellow one in her kitchen.  My mother had a stylish turquoise one hidden in her pantry.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted one [...]

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My mother never had much interest in television.  However, every afternoon when my older sisters came home from school, we’d huddle in the private sitting room off of my parents bedroom and the three of us would watch Dark Shadows and Star Trek with her.  It was the only time when she could catch us [...]

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Tomorrow I enter my third fifty hour week at the office covering for the owners who are away. There was a time when this was not a big deal but right now, this week?  It’s killing me.  By default, home has to be put on the back burner and with school gearing back up, that [...]

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My Grandfather retired right about the time I was born.   It was his habit to take me for outings at least twice a week.  The only catch was that he had a wooden leg, so wherever we went there had to be plenty of places to stop and rest.  We went to the movies more often than [...]

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Have you heard about the new Joe Namath movie?  Broadway Joe, my adolescent fantasy who even looked macho in pantyhose is going to be played by ack! Jake Gyllenhaal.  I am appalled.  I’m sure Mr. Gyllenhaal is a very talented actor (unlike my hunky Joe-remember CC & Company? Yeah.  Nobody does.) but Mr. Gyllenhaal is not…how [...]

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