Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: #Aging
You Need to Move Over
There were three old men swimming laps in the area of the pool designated for walkers, you know, folks who are rehabbing their backs or doing stretches in the water, things like that. The lap swimmers are supposed to swim in the lanes designated… Continue Reading “You Need to Move Over”
Notes to Myself: Badass at 76
I bought a bunch of Badass coffee mugs for friends and got these cute little notecards as a bonus. Well, actually I swiped the notecards out of the boxes their mugs came in because I thought I could use them to write notes to… Continue Reading “Notes to Myself: Badass at 76”
Button Up Your Pod
Stories of people my age forgetting which is the business end of a pencil make my blood run cold. That wasn’t always the case. When the people who got the mental flutters were a lot older than me, I could relax. I was in… Continue Reading “Button Up Your Pod”
Willie’s 90th
Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration concert is on TV tonight. I’ll be watching. I wouldn’t miss it. Willie Nelson’s voice is connected to a very rough time in my life. A lot of heartache. A divorce. A boyfriend with a very serious mental illness.… Continue Reading “Willie’s 90th”
Fascinator
The audiologist looks to be about twenty. She’s also got a doctorate and trains audiology students. She understands the intricacies of sound, all about tone and volume and a dozen nuances normal people don’t know or care about. She does the remarkable work of… Continue Reading “Fascinator”
Exit Plan
Forty years ago when we came to look at the house we now live in, the owner was sitting in the kitchen eating pancakes for dinner. She told us that she’d split from her husband and her daughter was grown so she no longer… Continue Reading “Exit Plan”
The Chase
Age runs me down fierce Relentless lion breathing I hide, swallow air __________ Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash
The Purple Shirt: Part Three
The man behind them in line listened to everything. He held a stack of DVD’s, a hockey jersey, and two souvenir shot glasses from Las Vegas. Who buys souvenir shot glasses used, Gloria wondered, but only for a minute. The man looked at her… Continue Reading “The Purple Shirt: Part Three”
The Purple Shirt: Part One
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 “The Purple Shirt: Part One”
Revelation
I wouldn’t divulge this to any but my closest friends. It’s too funny, too ironic, too embarrassing. Puts my vanity on the table like mail from a bill collector. In the center where no one can ignore it. Yesterday, I had a laser treatment… Continue Reading “Revelation”
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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