Category: Uncategorized

  • THE BIG HOT POTATO: OPIOIDS

    THE BIG HOT POTATO: OPIOIDS

    I had oral surgery many years ago by an excellent crack squad army of professional surgeons.  The lead doctor, a first-generation American-born citizen, was very proud of his family of immigrants who moved to Raleigh many years ago.  Perhaps you have been in this situation: the point, before the surgery, when the doctor explains how…

  • MANIPULATION

    MANIPULATION

    When I teach composition at the college level, I tell my students on the first day:  “If you have failed this course once, stay after class so you can make an appointment with me.” I hold office hours every day after all my classes for all my students. I give all my students 20 minutes…

  • FAKE FAMILY PHOTOS

    FAKE FAMILY PHOTOS

    On the first day of class, I give my students the same direction:  “This is the hand signal. [I show them a hand signal] When you see it, quietly gather your belongings and leave the room.”  One time, when I saw a student having emotional problems, I used it.  After the other students left the…

  • VOCABULARY

    VOCABULARY

    Defense Lawyer, Alan Jackson: “Was the defendant gesticulating?” Katie McLaughlin, a firefighter and paramedic: “I don’t know what that means?” Alan Jackson: “Gesticulating?” McLaughlin: “Yes. I don’t know what that means.” Alan Jackson: “Was the defendant waving her arms?” __Testimony during the re-trial of Karen Read, Mass. vs. Read, May 2025. I was fortunate. The…

  • CLASS ANXIETY

    CLASS ANXIETY

    My MFA graduation lecture at Bennington College was titled “Class Anxiety in Literature and Writing.” This morning, I was reminded that I am a creature of habit.   Before we bought our current home, we rented a small house nearby. On most early mornings, you could see me on my lawn, fussing with plants and the…

  • ICEBERGS

    ICEBERGS

    I think this iceberg image is a fine way to understand people and characters.  After many years, for instance, I am reading a book written by someone whose ideas I still value, but nonetheless, he is an asshole, who years ago chose someone, allowed her to jump the velvet rope, because she gave him so…

  • Getting Back at People or Solving a Problem to Make the World a Better Place: Empathy

    Getting Back at People or Solving a Problem to Make the World a Better Place: Empathy

    My husband and I have a problem where we live: our accents. We can’t hide the fact that we are from the North.  We have another problem: unlike most of the other residents in North Carolina, we are bleeding-heart liberal Democrats. In a town as small as ours, as soon as Trump was re-elected, we…

  • THAT TIME OF YEAR

    THAT TIME OF YEAR

    I have been a member of Interfolio since graduate school. I still use it whenever I am looking for a job.  Current students should get an account now.  Once you become a member, you can ask your teachers, professors for confidential letters of recommendation now, near the end of the semester, NOT years later. Waiting…

  • When I Am Sent Into Space, I Won’t Be Wearing Makeup, Hair Gel, Or PERFUME, Here’s Why…

    When I Am Sent Into Space, I Won’t Be Wearing Makeup, Hair Gel, Or PERFUME, Here’s Why…

  • BEING FEMALE AND HAVING TEETH

    BEING FEMALE AND HAVING TEETH

    BEING FEMALE AND HAVING TEETH Last week, my cracked two front teeth were finally corrected. Nothing made me more insecure than being close to someone and wondering if the person I was talking to could see them and judge me. In the photos, you can see how I tucked my top lip inside my bottom…