The trouble with daffodils is they have no subtext. They are all cheer and sparkle and optimism. They are avatars of perky. They get on my nerves. Read more.
Archives for 2010
A Case of the Human Condition: When a Six-Year-Old Flies Solo
My mother-in-law was on the phone. Could my 6-year-old son Peter come to Southern California for a week’s visit with her? “A week?” I thought. Could I get along without my little son for a whole week? Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: Four-Year-Old Girls — The Last Bastion of Pretty
Pink dresses. Powder blue dresses. Dresses with nosegays, kitty cats and sunbursts. Are little girls the last hold-outs for pretty these days? Read more.
A Case of the Human Condition: Spring’s Here — And So Is That Guy With His Camera
By Barbara Falconer Newhall He shows up every spring. Some years we see him. Some years we don’t. He shows up at our house just as dozens of daffodils are showing their bright, ridiculously optimistic faces all over the neighborhood and the show-offy star magnolia in our front yard is glorious with blossoms. Every year he arrives […]
A Case of the Human Condition: How Millennial Are You?
Want to know whether you are a Millennial, a Gen Xer, a Boomer or a Silent Generation-er? Take this test on the Pew Forum website. According to this test, I’m a robust 38 years old. And I only cheated a little — I said I had texted within the last 24 hours. But that’s only […]
Guest Post From Jon: Does “Under God” Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Jon was shocked when a Federal Appeals Court ruled that including “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. Read more.
When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something
Christina hadn’t called. We had dropped her at the airport hours ago. The flight to Burbank takes only seventy minutes. She should be home by now. But Jon and I still hadn’t gotten the, “I’m home. The plane didn’t crash. My roommate remembered to pick me up, and we didn’t get mugged in the garage,” phone call. Read more.