Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Writing
This Year’s Cake
This year, the banana cake has a half inch layer of cream cheese frosting. Last year’s cake was bare because I didn’t want to use the last of my cream cheese for frosting and we weren’t shopping in stores then, only getting grocery deliveries.… Continue Reading “This Year’s Cake”
#21 of 92: Blue Sky Good Life
Judge minutes, not years Let go of the last bad thing Love a smiling dog
#17 of 92: Struggle at the Escanaba Goodwill, Part 2
[See Part 1 of this fascinating story here.) The old lady was in line just two people away from the cashier. There was still time to get the shirt back. Normally, she’d just give it up, you know, avoid making a scene, but this… Continue Reading “#17 of 92: Struggle at the Escanaba Goodwill, Part 2”
#16 of 92: Struggle at the Escanaba Goodwill, Part 1
Gloria stepped back from the women’s shirt rack and waited for the old lady to pass. Experienced thrift store shoppers know the dance. A person rifling through the hangers from one direction will step back and let the person rifling from the other direction… Continue Reading “#16 of 92: Struggle at the Escanaba Goodwill, Part 1”
The Short Answer is I Don’t
How do you write what people actually want to read? View all responses My writing is an acquired taste. Most of my readers are older women. When they die off, my husband will be my only reader. He reads everything but doesn’t like everything.… Continue Reading “The Short Answer is I Don’t”
Night Swim: A Story
[It’s been a night swim these past few months after our daughter’s death, but now I’m finding the raft. It’s good.] She’d dreamt of swimming across the lake a thousand times. The dreams were always the same. There was a full moon that shone… Continue Reading “Night Swim: A Story”
Writing Bleak
(I wrote this on August 5, 2017. Nine years later, I’m in a different spot about death and grieving. I’ll write about that later today. Two posts on the same day. Wild.) The problem with writing when you’re anxious or a little depressed is… Continue Reading “Writing Bleak”
The Undocumented Bumble Bee Kite
I am trying to live an undocumented life but it is very difficult when one’s practice is to document everything. This afternoon, flying a bumblebee kite, I thought about how I ought to take a picture of the kite, more specifically the string running… Continue Reading “The Undocumented Bumble Bee Kite”
Julia and Fennel Nights
What I love most about watching episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef is how she scrapes the inside of a fish after scaling it and having the scales flying all over the place. I love how she pulls all the guts out, rinses… Continue Reading “Julia and Fennel Nights”
Prison Town: Part Two
“There’s a real old cemetery out on 16, take it to Henning Road and go east, maybe four miles. There’s a park there but next to the park is an old cemetery. It’s a dirt road, though, so be careful.” Robert, Sr. appreciated… Continue Reading “Prison Town: Part Two”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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