“But he can barely stand up for any extended period of time.” In the spring of 2017, my father-in-law was on hospice care in our home. An incredible volunteer, Jim, came to our house once a week to spend time with Dad. Jim and Dad would usually just sit together (Dad wasn’t an especially chatty […]
“For me?” About a meaningful gift
My doorbell rang the morning of January 28, and I assumed it wouldn’t be a good thing. I wasn’t expecting a delivery, and spontaneous visitors frustrated me because they interrupted my deadline-based work. When I opened the door, a delivery person handed me a large money plant with a stylish bow. I read the card […]
Always scroll to the very bottom …
This week, Kat Bouska asked, “What were you writing about last year at this time? How have things changed?” On the first Sunday of February 2021 (February 2020 and February 2019 also), I wrote compilations of the top stories from my work. I have put together these story collections on the first Sunday of every […]
Tracy Beckerman on her dogoir and overcoming writer’s elbow
I am not a dog person. However, we dogsat my granddog, Embry, last fall and I changed my tune a bit. After years of cat ownership, I was amazed to have a pet around that actually seemed to like me! He was also difficult to photograph. (Well, HE is photogenic, but it was difficult to […]
Does it matter what shoes your spokescandy wears?
I ran this poll (and got these results) in the “While You Were Working” newsletter from Smartbrief last Thursday: The poll had to do with the fact that the M&M’s characters and logo are changing. The overarching idea, according to Mars, their owner, is to “reflect the more dynamic, progressive world that we live in.” […]
“There is no easy route”: A server’s perspective
In early March 2020, when the realities of COVID-19 were just dawning on the US, 32% of consumers said they planned to eat at restaurants less often, according to Technomic. In December 2020, CNN reported that 10,000 restaurants had closed in the past three months. More than a year later, here’s an update from Technomic’s TIndex, a monthly index […]