My father taught me so many things, among them: I wasn’t good enough; Me being me was a pain in the ass to others; My intelligence was something to be embarrassed about; I didn’t know anything that was important; I could be anything I wanted to be, as long as it was what he wanted [...]

Even though the tragic loss of Buffy at Thanksgiving was heartbreaking and horrible, we both knew that we would, when we were ready, adopt another kitten. Getting a Kitten for a Cat One of the things we realized about Buffy was that she didn’t want/need a feline companion, but of course we only realized that [...]

Dear Martin, I was five-going-on-six when you were murdered. I was a little white girl living in a nice working-to-middle-class seacoast neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. I can’t say I remember anything about your murder, although growing up three murders were never far from anyone’s recall. First President Kennedy, then you, then the President’s brother Robert. [...]

The backstory One of my most memorable Christmases occured many years ago when I ended a relationship on Christmas Eve day: we had been seeing each other for over a year and I was terribly fond of the fellow, but I could no longer pretend that his excessive drinking didn’t bother me. Since he didn’t [...]

This is Buffy. We got her when she was this big.