Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: relationships
What’s Fair Game?
An essay I wrote about a former lover is being published in an anthology called Precipice. In the essay, I use the person’s actual first name because, when I wrote it, no other name seemed a good substitute. And the story I told isn’t… Continue Reading “What’s Fair Game?”
The Rebuked Apology
Interpersonal warfare has many dimensions. In the giant storeroom of weapons and strategies, next to the M16’s and poison arrows, is the rebuked apology. This is the scalpel of conflict, the slitting of the aorta, the permanent solution. There is no coming back from… Continue Reading “The Rebuked Apology”
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
All your adult life, you’ve been picking out bad boys, guys who charm your mother but have a lot of traffic tickets. Guys who ride motorcycles that aren’t paid for but, because they are smiling all the time, it doesn’t seem like such a… Continue Reading “Matchmaker, Matchmaker”
Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive
If you are estranged from a family member, you might not know whether he or she is still alive. This is an odd concept for many of my friends whose families vacation together, babysit each other’s kids, and celebrate every holiday together. Would anyone… Continue Reading “Happy Birthday, Sis, Assuming You’re Still Alive”
Adoption Dreams
The depressing thing about adoption is that it doesn’t always turn out the way we hoped. The amazing thing about adoption is that sometimes it does. For parents who start out with a script, a fixed picture in their heads of what they and… Continue Reading “Adoption Dreams”
33 Words on True Greed
No one is as stingy as the one who sees the time for a compliment and lets it pass, reluctant to part with even the tiniest jewel and risk their own diminished sparkle. _______ Photo – Ashton Mullins
#17/100: Easing the Sting
I’m glad Sting didn’t have a chance to talk to my dad before he died. He would have really queered my deal. Sting announced today that he wouldn’t be leaving his $300 million to his six children but intended to spend it instead; he… Continue Reading “#17/100: Easing the Sting”
#16/100: The Agony Wars
Sadder still is when already ill people break their legs falling over toys their distracted children left scattered carelessly, and are too late to help a dying friend dial the phone for help.
#10/100: My Favorite Mistake
My favorite mistake is sleeping on the couch wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a Milwaukee Brewers sweatshirt. When I tell people that we’d only known each other a few months when we married 30 years ago, deciding on one Tuesday to get… Continue Reading “#10/100: My Favorite Mistake”
About a Dad
This time of year everyone has a great dad. If your dad is dead or very old, he has become a small legend, a tiny statue with a bobblehead that you can keep on your dashboard so when you pull up to a hot… Continue Reading “About a Dad”
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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