First published on Disability.gov For 70 years she put up with his (sometimes volcanic) rumblings. He doted on her with diamonds, and was a poorer father for it. The youngest of 5 much older siblings, she was babied into being passive and timid. He was a blustering bad boy who loved control; a lifelong natural at most things mechanical. He took seriously his duties as a man, a spouse, […]
My balance, isn’t. So when I head straight toward the bushes at the entrance to my building it isn’t surprising. Bushes are a trigger in picturing my first (and only) experience as a new MSer in an MS support group. Recommended by my neurologist, the group experience was meant to help me cope with the way-past-due-diagnosis of my disease. Instead, it freaked me out. Walkers, wheelchairs, canes, crutches – and me, invisibly […]
If nothing else, after 50 years fighting poverty, one thing’s clear: America hasn’t found the right WMD. Poverty’s still the winner. Among the most ill-advised social programs developed to counteract the effects of single parenthood on women is one that promoted marriage as an effective weapon. While it’s true that a healthy, stable marriage between two committed people helps in the battle against hopelessness and helplessness, there may be […]
What’s a hand doing in deep space? And what’s it attached to? Is God just a big hand? Wait a minute. Is that a hand at all? The so-called “Hand of God” is the result of a combination of NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuStar, combined with Chandra X-ray Observatory’s imaging. God (and Superman) only knows what that pulsaristic, X-ray, and magnetic energy stuff’s about. That we humans jump […]
I love presents; who doesn’t? Wrapped or unwrapped, gifts can be delightful. And while this holiday giving season is over, shopping for next year’s holiday has already begun. My gift to you is a gift-giving guide of sorts. Garnered from over a quarter-century of giving presents great and small here are some pointers: Buy now based on later. That little boy will be a year older by time the next […]
“God bless us, every one.” I think Tiny Tim got really chilled waiting in line on Black Friday. And Cyber Monday. Come to think of it, somebody told me he was at the mall the other day, too. Amazing, since he hit the deck real hard when he lost a tug of war over some on-sale Levi’s. Gotta give him credit for gettin’ back on the horse. Poor guy. We […]
I keep a book in my office and if I had a coffee table, it would be on it. It’s red, with a coffee spill down the front that’s dried into a Rorschach-kind of thing. Nifty for it to be in a therapist’s office. Inside, dozens of clients have written their “should’s”. It’s not instructive to describe what they said; more than likely, their self-flagellations are the same as yours. […]
I’d forgotten all about them, so when my husband plunked down dusty, dirty old boxes for me to go through, I inwardly groaned at more work. What I found caused me to turn off the TV, plop down on the floor, and get teary. Some things are personal. It’s okay, healthy even, to keep private some things, especially from your partner. You disrespect all three of you by telling all, […]
Coming on the exhausted heels of Black Friday, Saturday the 30th is Small Business Saturday®. As most men will agree, the only thing more bracing than Black Friday shopping is more shopping. This isn’t big-name, big-box stuff. Small Business Saturday® encourages consumers to SHOP SMALL®. American Express developed the program as a way to help small businesses market themselves. While the financial giant’s small biz bolstering is less than […]
Speaking from a disabled woman’s point of view, living the “lib lie” in relationship simply doesn’t work. The “lib lie” I’m talking about is putting career before relationship, being damned if I’ll make cacciatore, or being complimented for how I look. Where was my head all these years. I’ll tell you where: in the conference room, the kitchen, and in front of the mirror. Truth be told, I like making […]
ilikebeingsickanddisabled 