Mar 3, 2021Conversations With My Polish FamilyLeaving 2020 in the Rearview MirrorHumor1 min readConversations With My Polish Family----
Apr 4, 2020COVID-19: Understand the Metaphor; Explore the New ParadigmMost of us made a mad dash into 2020 with the best intentions. A new year. A new decade. A new outlook. And then March arrived and along with it a pronounced COVID-19 pandemic. Everything screeched to a halt. The term “social distancing” was born and suddenly the Here and…Covid 195 min read
May 13, 2019Planning My Fabulous After LifeDoris Day passed away on May 13, 2019, and it got me thinking about life and After Life again. What happens to “me” when I become “No Longer Me.” “Me In The Ethers” that is. Death. That sort of thing. My, oh my. I fear this may not be the…Humor8 min read
Oct 14, 20185 Reasons to Keep Track of John WatersWilliam Burroughs once referred to John Waters as “The Pope of Trash.” To be sure, the prolific writer-author-artist-filmmaker of such 1970s and ’80s envelope-pushers as Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Hairspray, Polyester, and Cry Baby, has earned that title—in the very best, and creative way, of course. Funny enough, Waters says…Art4 min read
Jul 8, 2018The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide To Thriving During Precarious TimesI tell stories for a living. Some of them are fiction. Some of them are real. Others are downright surreal. To be sure, the times in which we currently find ourselves living may fit into the latter and, by the looks of it, collectively, we are all being affected on…Yoga7 min read
Jun 14, 2018GOD Was My Lyft Passenger. Here’s What I Learned.I was having one of those days. Emotions stirred within. It was challenging to stay in the present moment. Nothing seemed to make much rational sense in terms of what I was doing with my life. Until GOD showed up. But first … For years, I thrived as a journalist…Short Story7 min read
Jun 11, 2018Why the World Needs to Know More About Jetro Rafael and his Restaurant, Van Gogh Is BiPolarGreat fables and soul-stirring mysteries from the mystics professed (more or less) that the “Gods don’t need to show off—they are always ‘hiding’ in the bushes.” How true that is for the quirky, off-the-beaten path restaurant in Manilla known as Van Gogh is Bipolar. Here, bipolar chef/owner Jetro Rafael…Art3 min read
Jun 10, 2018Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, And Why It’s Time For Depression To Come Out Of The ClosetThe news cycle during the first week of June 2018 began like most weeks had over the last year: “Trump Did This.” “Trump Said That.” America watched on, transfixed as the world’s most morbid reality show kept playing itself out. But a more haunting turn came midweek when it was…Mental Health7 min read
May 16, 2018How My Grandmother Taught Me To Embrace The Strength Of WomenBetween Mother’s Day and all the brouhaha surrounding Russia and Putin, I find myself ruminating on my Polish family, particularly the stength of the women in my clan. Growing up in Chicago, I always heard about the steely resolve of my maternal Polish grandmother, Jadwiga Wilk Migut. Jadwiga died before…World War II5 min read
Apr 25, 2018Standing Rock: 10 Things Everyone Needs To Know NowThe Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) began commercial service in June 2017. It is now transporting crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to a storage and terminalling hub outside Pakota, Il. Oil flow didn’t happen without resistance, of course, as thousands of water protectors gathered at…Climate Change8 min read
