Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: Christmas
99 New: True Value
I’ve spent the last year hanging around people who hug you like they mean it. And it’s softened me up. So I get what that does for people who are homeless. God, it is a relief not to be judged. To have people be… Continue Reading “99 New: True Value”
99 New: Christmas Eve Hope
I hope you’ve strung lights over the kitchen sink. I hope you lit a candle in the window. I hope someone surprised you with cookies. I hope you listened to a choir sing. I hope you give a gift and receive one. That’s what… Continue Reading “99 New: Christmas Eve Hope”
99 New: Friday Before Christmas Round-Up
The new dog peed on the dining room rug. Prior to this, said dog would have been referred to as our “Beloved Romeo.” The bloom is off the rose. I suffered an invisible defeat this week. It was a classic instance of overestimating myself and… Continue Reading “99 New: Friday Before Christmas Round-Up”
99 New: Endings
It was my custom to make peanut brittle on Christmas Eve, early so it was done but slightly warm at dinnertime and we could wrap it in boxes for my daughter to give to her grandparents where she spent Christmas Eve while I stayed… Continue Reading “99 New: Endings”
The Bluest Bike
I want the cream-colored bike at Target, the one with the old fashioned handlebars and a brown leather seat. It has fenders like the big blue bike I had as a kid that I rode down 10 1/2 Mile Road, a wide dirt road… Continue Reading “The Bluest Bike”
The Blessing of Christmas Misery
I am a person with a very uneven Christmas life. When I was a kid, the quality of Christmas – not the presents but the mood – depended on whether business at our Ben Franklin Store had been good or not so good. There… Continue Reading “The Blessing of Christmas Misery”
Renewal
The wonder of Christmas Eve is: Twelve eggs cracking Eleven chains tangling Ten shirts unraveling Nine people crying Eight glaciers melting Seven cities crumbling Six children leaving Five arguments flailing Four mistakes repeating Three gifts returning Two people quitting One more chance appearing
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect.
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect May 27, 2020
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
