I had a Zoom session the other day, a phrase the likes of me has never uttered until this surreal situation took over our lives and turned everything on its head. But you know that. What I wanted to tell you concerns a comment made by one of the participants in that Zoom session, sponsored by a group I belong to for retired professionals, to the effect that she’s...

Are you sick of hanging around the house during this pandemic looking like, as my mother used to say, the Wreck of the Hesperus? And no, I never knew what that meant, but I got the gist: I was a mess. As I have been recently, during these daunting days of isolation.  Many of my clothes require dry cleaning (must remedy that in the future), and many cleaners are...

Who says I can’t clean my apartment? Who says that my attempts at housekeeping are doomed to failure? Who says that my domestic adventures are closer to I Love Lucy than The Donna Reed Show ? Well, me, for one. And my cleaning lady, for another. Who happens to be—by one of those coincidences Freud tells us don’t exist—named Lucy. She is now self-isolating in...

Attention Bitter Blogees: These are . . . interesting times. This post from a guest blogger surely reflects the experiences of many. A few weeks of self isolation are beginning to bring about unintended consequences. This morning in my junk mailbox there was an offer from Neiman Marcus literally bringing the realities home. NM asked if I would like to avail myself...

These are strange times. To wit: How the hell could a show as bleak as The Handmaid’s Tale actually improve my outlook on life in this time of global pandemic and economic meltdown? I had no idea. For months, years even, my brother the cinematographer has been telling me to watch The Handmaid’s Tale. But would I listen? Of course not. I already was  watching too...

It’s right here, folks, and yours to enjoy—guilt free! I guess by now you’ve heard the news: red meat may not be as bad for you as we were led to believe. It may not be bad at all! Hot off the presses, if not the grill, comes this announcement: A new set of guidelines published Sept. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that many people may not...

Do You Want To Know a Secret? When I was younger, so much younger than today . . . yes, I listened to the Beatles, just like everyone else. But I also had a fantasy that I think is somewhat unique. When I’m 64 , I thought to myself, I would be a kind of geriatric Eloise living at the Plaza Hotel. Imagine that! If you remember your children’s literature, Eloise was...

Gershwin and grief do not mix. The first thing they should tell you in grief groups is that you should never, ever go to a romantic musical while you’re in mourning. And of these musicals, the worst (because it’s the best) would be An American In Paris. Here’s my story: A short time after being widowed, my good friend Diana suggested we go to dinner and a play. I...