Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: relationships
TIE and SIT
Without thinking even 60 seconds, I hit the Buy Now button and sent my 89-year old father his first computer, a brilliant blue IMac. The same day I wrote him a letter, gave him my email address, and told him to email me when… Continue Reading “TIE and SIT”
Not Now, but Then
Every couple of years after he was the cause of the break-up of my first marriage, Hal would show up at my front door with a bottle of Scotch which I didn’t drink and then try to ingratiate himself into my life as my… Continue Reading “Not Now, but Then”
Happy is a Razor
The tiny box of razor blades was right where I knew it would be, buried on the second shelf of the linen closet, amidst hotel bottles of shampoo and bubble packs of cold medicine. It was on my walk that it came to me.… Continue Reading “Happy is a Razor”
Happy Anniversary
When you are married 30 years, people clamor for the secret. That’s not true. No one’s asked. You have to be a 115-year Russian guy living in a sod hut on the windblown steppes to make folks curious about your claim to longevity. Yogurt,… Continue Reading “Happy Anniversary”
Say Goodbye
“You can’t come back here.” She stopped him on the road where he was creeping along in his old blue truck, and told him to roll down his window so he would hear exactly what she was saying. “You’re not welcome here. You need… Continue Reading “Say Goodbye”
A White Suit and a Wise Man
My story is about a present, not a Christmas present but an unforgettable present, one that has lived in infamy for twenty years. I bought my husband a white suit. You know, the kind of white suit that Panama Jack would wear with, of… Continue Reading “A White Suit and a Wise Man”
All Dolled Up
I shouted down the stairs to my husband, “Are you going to wear your Packer sweatshirt to the show?” It was just a question. I wasn’t insinuating that he should change. So what if we were taking our granddaughter to the symphony downtown at… Continue Reading “All Dolled Up”
Casting
If you married a man who was a fisherman, who fished not for single trout or salmon but for herds of whitefish which he then sold to stores and restaurants so tourists could enjoy an authentic Lake Superior meal, your whole life would smell… Continue Reading “Casting”
One Kiss
You only need one kiss. On Mother’s Day. Or any day. You don’t need dozens. Just one. To kiss or be kissed. It’s the same. That’s all you need. Is one.
Paint It Red
I reached with my paintbrush for the tiny unpainted space between the two bedroom walls and the ceiling that the roller had missed, stretching my back and arm and holding the brush by its very tip to avoid having to step down from the… Continue Reading “Paint It Red”
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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