Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: memoir
An Homage to My Old Kitchen
Thirty years ago, we walked into the kitchen of the house we wanted to buy and stood in the breakfast nook watching the recently divorced owner eat her pancake dinner. She told us that she had decided to sell the house to us instead… Continue Reading “An Homage to My Old Kitchen”
Devotion Post: Joan Baez
There were maybe five or six albums in my collection in my first year of college in 1966. The Mamas and The Papas’ “All the Leaves are Brown” album was the soundtrack of the long and isolating winter at Central Michigan University. Once September… Continue Reading “Devotion Post: Joan Baez”
Dinner Hour
We find three picnic tables at the park pulled together in a row. That means that when our son shows up for dinner we can space ourselves far apart, the new calculus of every encounter. It took us a while, really a long while,… Continue Reading “Dinner Hour”
A Long Time Coming
I asked so much of her and I never said thank you. It’s hard to believe looking back like I did today, sorting through hundreds of photos, some so old that they were printed in squares like they were taken with a Brownie camera,… Continue Reading “A Long Time Coming”
The Fall
I fell. I fell on a boat ramp that had jagged rows of bumpy concrete intended to prevent falling. I gripped the end of the kayak in my right hand, faced up the ramp like I had done so often before, and waited for… Continue Reading “The Fall”
Cars I Have Loved: 1964 VW Beetle
My first car was a 1964 green Volkswagen Beetle. I paid $750 for it which was a lot because, at the time, I was making $85 a week as a secretary. For whatever reason, the transmission failed the same day I bought it after… Continue Reading “Cars I Have Loved: 1964 VW Beetle”
Butter Days
I bought another pound of butter today. I thought we had plenty of butter but I wasn’t sure and, besides, it’s not like you have to wait for the last bit of butter to be used up before buying more. If you do that,… Continue Reading “Butter Days”
My Time as a Funeral Emcee
I was once the emcee of a funeral. I had no qualifications for this role. I’m not a minister or a funeral director or even a practiced mourner. But when my longtime friend asked me to be the emcee of her mother’s funeral, I… Continue Reading “My Time as a Funeral Emcee”
Ancient Stories
Things that happened long ago don’t seem like they happened yesterday. They seem like they happened long ago. This morning’s writing check-in with a group of writers increasingly dear to me centered on a discussion of violence. One person was wrestling with how to… Continue Reading “Ancient Stories”
Tiny Things Last
A tiny thing can last for years. The memory of it can be as fresh as the first second, the leaves on the bush as green, the soil underneath as loamy and dark and the tiny elves’ footprints as distinct. My brother would motion… Continue Reading “Tiny Things Last”
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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