City Girl

A Tale of Two Cities, the epic historical novel by Charles Dickens, begins with a famous opening sentence: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. If you ask most people which of those two choices would best describe 2020 so far, a huge majority would probably choose the latter. […]

During this time of pandemic, social distancing and isolation, the slogan “We’re in this together” has become popular on the news and social media. However, after seeing people in action, I wonder if we really understand what being in something together really means. […]

Our next door neighbors have dogs. First there was one, and then there must have been a visitor because there were puppies. […]

There was a time not too many centuries ago when it was not uncommon for a person to live their entire life within a few miles of the place where they were born. The furthest they traveled was to the nearest town for supplies, church and school. […]

Kitty may be just a cat, but she knows what’s going on. She’s aware that there is a virus out there that sometimes circulates among camels and bats – and cats. At first, she was pretty casual about the whole thing, but as the numbers have risen, she has become more cautious. […]

A bully is defined as a person who habitually seeks to harm or intimidate those whom they perceive as vulnerable. […]

I loved the Fourth of July when I was a kid. We lived inside the city limits where the authorities frowned on the fun stuff like roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a bon fire and shooting off fireworks. So we usually celebrated Independence Day at Aunt Fay’s. […]

My first column of this year was titled “Welcome 2020!” I mentioned that a number of marketing firms seemed poised to launch ad campaigns reminiscent of the Roaring 20s of the last century. I followed that up by saying “It remains to be seen whether the next 10 years roar or whimper.” […]

Last year, our front porch began to list to the southeast. Investigation showed that the support post on that corner was rotting away. We discussed our options with a local handyman. […]

With all the unrest and chaos that’s going on in the country, I felt like I should write something of a serious nature this week. However, many of the situations make little sense to me, so it’s impossible to write something sensible. […]