Archive for September, 2006

Monkey moms

I don’t remember much from college. I bounced around—three universities, multiple majors, spotty grades—but I do remember the rhesus monkeys. In one of my psychology classes we read about a bonding experiment in which baby monkeys were given the choice of two surrogate “mothers.” One was made of wire but had a bottle of food […]

Tales from the office

Maxine Although she has diabetes, high blood pressure, and occasional arthritic pain, Maxine is a relatively healthy 55-year-old woman. She came to the clinic, however, complaining of knee pain. I evaluated her and diagnosed the pain as worsening arthritis. We discussed the treatment plan: adjust the oral anti-inflammatory medicine and start physical therapy. As I […]

My left hand

My left hand is making a lot more noise these days. When I pick up a coffee cup – tink! When I grab the phone – tik! When I clean crumbs off the kitchen countertop – clsssk sssk sk! Most of the regular readers of this site already know the source of these new sounds. […]

Breaking up is… hard to doooooooo…

What was your worst breakup ever? Didja get caught in an affair? Fight over money? Accidentally pull up all the baby carrots in someone’s beloved garden, mistakenly thinking they were little weeds? (Yes, I did that, but it was to an earthy garden-girl I had a crush on, not an actual girlfriend.) How bad did […]

On being a musician

It’s been a good many years since I’ve thought of myself as a musician, notwithstanding my brief stint last year in a performance-art Patsy Cline cover band. But until my sophomore year of college, my primary identities were, about equally, writer and musician. I played string bass from the time I was 9 until I was 19. I also took piano lessons […]

Till death do us part

What better than a wedding to remind us that family—shaped by bloodlines, law, and random acts—is funnier than The Office, more tragic than Hamlet, and more bizarre than Lost. I just spent a few days in England for my cousin’s wedding. Technically, it was a “blessing,” followed the next day by a christening, as she […]

Monkey suit not included

Greetings, good people. What a long and lonely summer it has been, estranged from your loving attention and thoughtful comments. I have so enjoyed my daily visits to TGW, despite the fact that I have relegated myself to lurker status. I am almost intimidated to rejoin the ranks of such talented and entertaining writers. Really. […]

The church of manlove

My wife wishes I were gay, which is kind of ironic I guess. But it makes sense in lieu of what she really wishes—I mean, that she were a man—but that’s a whole nother story. My own desire to be gay has more or less subsided, but as a lad, I really wanted to be […]

Six more degrees of GW nation

In the words of the immortal Neil Diamond, hello, again. Hello. (That should give you an indication of where I fall in the great Bowie vs. Jagger debate; yes, I’d trade ‘em both for the likes of, say, Barry Manilow. Sue me.) So inspired am I by Farrell’s and Bryan’s reflections on the GW gang […]

Camping with the Northeast Corridor Social Club

The first year we went to the Berkshires. Labor Day weekend, 1999. The world was a little more innocent then. Bacon, whose marriage was on the rocks, drove up from DC. Lane and Adriana drove up from New York with Karen and her son Ian, who was what, seven or eight? They came in Karen’s then-still-fabulous silver Jaguar — […]