The long and short of wearing shorts on planes I am not a particularly formal person. My grammar is lax. My hair probably needs brushing. My housekeeping is casual at best. No kitchen floor is swept before it sounds crunchy. And if you seat me at a table with more than one fork, I will hesitate before picking up…

Facing the phase three When I was a teen in the 1970s, I experienced a classic existential crisis. Though I’d never heard the term, or of Kierkegaard for that matter, I managed to bore my friends with angst-ridden monologues questioning the meaning of life. Why were we here? What was the point of it…

Act how you wish to be remembered Memories of my dad appear randomly in my brain like a documentary film run by a jumpy projectionist. I’m convinced I am incapable of misremembering him, anymore than an echo could repeat words never spoken. Others’ memories may contradict my own. Still, mine…

On her shoulder, a gold and purple pin,

A chance encounter in India leaves a lifelong impression She drifted from one cluster of travelers to the next, like a dandelion seed on the wind. We stood in front of the post office, or maybe it was a visa office, some public space in New Delhi, India where backpackers…

You hold up the wall

A short story about a short skirt Is it still possible for fashion to shock? I was young and leggy when hemlines rose and jaws dropped. Those first miniskirts seemed daring, even revolutionary. …

Q&A Q. Why did you start writing? A. I felt I had something to say. When I look at the novels that have stuck with me for decades, the common thread is that the characters grapple with ethical conundrums. Nick in Gatsby, Scout in Mockingbird, Holden in Catcher, Pip in…

A precious bit of printed fabric links us It’s a simple piece of fabric, sheer and wispy like silk, but maybe not silk. Printed near the top is an American flag. Below is this promise written in fourteen languages: I am a citizen of the United States of America. I…