Burnt Chocolate Stories

Pieces of me are falling apart. I suppose it's my age - 82 is no spring chicken as they say. I need two implants due to two teeth failing to do their job properly and chew as they have been instructed. That is no easy feat as it takes many months to get it done. And how much mileage will I get out of it? Maybe ten years if I'm lucky. But my children say I need to do these things and spend the small fortune it will cost. The other night, there was a tiny spider on the ceiling above my bed. At first I thought, how much damage can a tiny spider do. But then it bothered me that it was up there waiting to pounce and bite, so I picked up my slipper, stood on the bed and swiped it off, killing it I suppose, but it disappeared. Then I fell against the wall behind my bed and clocked my right eye, turning it blue and swollen almost immediately. Ice all night kept the swelling down, but the color has become a brilliant rainbow that circles my eye. Nurse Abby confirmed no damage had been d...

"Can't we all just be friends?" That was Rodney Kings refrain after he'd been beaten within an inch of his life by the Los Angeles police.  If he can express such a hopeful stance, let's hope the rest of us can.  When Karl Rove, Tucker Carlson and John Yoo have come together to say enough is enough from trump, here's hoping the rest of us can. I was at a discussion group last week and a gentleman, rather apologetically, said he was concerned about the budget which is why he voted for trump. No! That excuse does not fly. Because trump never said he would or even could balance the budget. No one really cares about the federal budget except when it's time to have an election. Then hands are raised as if this is a horrible predicament. Well, now, in these terrible circumstances, it might be, but it's too late to even be concerned if anyone really was. This gentleman voted for trump, as so many others did, because he couldn't bring himself to vote for a...

I said a few words at the Alzheimer's Walk at Saint John's on the Lake, about how caring and supportive our community is to those who have the disease and to those who care for them. My father and my husband Steve both died from Alzheimer's. They struggled against the ever advancing symptoms to make the best of their remaining time. And then there was our son Ben who had ALS and met his challenges with grace and courage. Brain diseases are the most complicated medical frontier today, but we continue to maintain hope in the face of overwhelming odds. Afterwards, someone asked how I've been able to maintain strength in the face of these horrific diseases. I joked, 'denial is my friend' but that doesn't really answer the question. It lies in my family history. My paternal grandmother, Rebecca, is my champion. Her only daughter and one-year-old baby boy died hiding with her in a neighbor's cellar during the 1902 pogrom in Ukraine. For the next year, she made...

 In 1986, I volunteered at the Evanston Women's Shelter for Battered Women. I was an outreach spokesperson for any organization that asked for presentations. I explained why spanking a child is the least effective discipline tool, why abused women need sanctuary, how laws to protect battered women need to be passed. I also listened to the painful stories from women who sought refuge for themselves and their children, from husbands and boyfriends, afraid for their lives. Literally. Through these brave women, I learned what it meant to live in an abusive relationship. These women risked their lives to save themselves and their children. Often, they escaped in the middle of the night, to seek shelter and protection. As we were protesting on Lafayette Hill on Saturday, a fellow protester told me about an article she read that compares what our country is living through now, to an abusive relationship. I hadn't thought about that before, but it makes perfect sense to me. We ask, why...