Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Writing
Turning 65
The saltwater was the perfect treatment for the blisters I got from wearing the wrong shoes for a walk on the Old Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys that I had been planning for weeks to mark my 65th birthday. It is so… Continue Reading “Turning 65”
Role Model
She asked me if I’d take her to the funeral. She said in a text: “Will u take me? I can’t get a ride.” So I said, yes, I would drive her. This would be another one of the things that I probably wouldn’t… Continue Reading “Role Model”
The Healing Comes Later
When something terrible happens, we rush to the healing station. We’re told to find hope out of despair and peace out of destruction. Within hours of the Boston Marathon bombing, there were memes on FB reminding us that anyone who ‘messes with Boston’ will… Continue Reading “The Healing Comes Later”
The Magic of the Salon
“How big a birthday? You mean you’re turning 85?” My hairdresser…for a slight moment there, I thought I should use a more current term like stylist or whatever and then I quick Googled hairdresser and this is what Wikipedia says: Hairdresser is a term… Continue Reading “The Magic of the Salon”
The False Liberation of Swearing
Swearing is liberating. Cursing, using foul language, whatever you want to call it can make a person feel tougher, more powerful. A woman cursing says she could give a s**t about what other people think, she’s unaware or uncaring about what’s ladylike and what’s… Continue Reading “The False Liberation of Swearing”
Margaret Thatcher and Shirley Muldowney
8 of 18 It’s enough that they did it first. They didn’t have to do it right. Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to be Prime Minister of the UK after elbowing her way through layers of rock hard, calcified male privilege. She went… Continue Reading “Margaret Thatcher and Shirley Muldowney”
Blogosfear
Blogosfear: Fear of being talked about or becoming a character in someone’s blog as in “When he talked to his friend, he was overwhelmed with blogosfear thinking their conversation would be published the next day in her very popular blog.” Blogosfear was the March… Continue Reading “Blogosfear”
The End/Start of Cool
#5 of 18 The hardest part about getting older is not becoming one of these. It seems like turning 65 kicks off a huge transformation. People who were formerly cool become bingo fanatics. They learn to polka and sign up for educational tours of… Continue Reading “The End/Start of Cool”
April 4, 1968
4 of 18 When Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed 45 years ago today in plain daylight, standing on the balcony of a motel, not hurting anyone, just standing there unarmed, unthreatening, with his colleagues nearby, and a city surrounding him, it was the… Continue Reading “April 4, 1968”
Hot Rod Lincoln
3 of 18 Cars these days are so pedestrian. Every SUV is silver. The little interchangeable boxy gas-saving cars are always energy efficient colors like white. Cars have no fins, finish, or flair. There’s no reason to wax a car anymore. If it shines,… Continue Reading “Hot Rod Lincoln”
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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