SHARP NEEDLES

SHARP NEEDLES

My mother, brother, and I moved from the cavernous old house on Doswell, surrounded by lilac bushes, into a brand new—but tiny—apartment in Berkeley. Mom gave the two small bedrooms upstairs to Doug and me and slept downstairs on the sofa. At last…

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SUNNY

SUNNY

What I remember most about the two years after the divorce is my loneliness. When I was in seventh grade, Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She had a partial hysterectomy—they’d removed her uterus but left her ovaries—and her cancer was never mentioned again. But...

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SINGER

SINGER

My dream, from the age of twelve on, was to become a singer. Unlike my parents, I was musical, and when, in fifth grade, my friend Margie started taking violin lessons at school from visiting music teacher Miss Perchett, I took up the viola. I’d wanted, a couple of...

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BLOSSOMS

BLOSSOMS

Overhead all the trees that can flower are flaunting their festive finery, while underfoot the poppies are populating even the most unprepossessing places!

To see poppies, just click on the picture above.

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BLUE GATE

BLUE GATE

Today I saw my first calla lilies and monkey flowers of the season on my way to the Plunge.

To view the monkey flowers and blue gate, click on the photo above.

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DAREDEVIL

DAREDEVIL

Don’t think because my pediatrician said I wouldn’t have survived infancy without antibiotics that I was a sickly child. Throughout my elementary school years I was physically active, robust enough to chase lizards and butterflies with my father and brother and play...

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