When my love makes 40 clove garlic chicken, he goes to the grocery store and carefully selects garlic heads that are firm and not blemished.  He also buys elephant garlic, for it has an even milder flavor than regular garlic.  It also has larger cloves, so he doesn’t...

In the fall of 2008, I entered Stanford Hospital.  No, I did not have a rare kind of cancer or leukemia.  My sickness was also insidious, elusive and frightening. I suffered from bipolar disorder. I was haunted by moods that swung high into the unreal heavens and down...

  The first day we moved into our house on a tree-lined street in the sun-kissed town of Pasadena, California, a young girl appeared at our door. She had round, apple cheeks and a gap between her front teeth that matched her wide open smile. “Hi! I'm Anita. I...

I have been blessed with wonderful girlfriends at every stage of my life. The next few posts, I am going to describe these laides and share how they influenced my life. Sandi Howie I met Sandi as a little girl in “First Form” (kindergarten) while my family lived in...

A Hidden Gem Today I subbed for a 5th grade class at a small school nestled in a low-income neighborhood on the south east part of town. Stray dogs wandered the streets as I pulled into the parking lot. There were no painted murals of mascots on the gray, cement...

I just came across this article from Reader's Digest that describes one teacher's ingenious practice to identify and treat the lost and lonely children in her class.  After my belly-aching about teachers who don't do their job, I thought it only fitting to share this...