It came up in a conversation with a friend, and it really got my hackles up. Her kids were doing something that annoyed her. When she tried to get them to stop, her husband told her she was overreacting. Uh-oh. When she told me that, it was like waving a red flag in front of [...]

Dualistic thinking (opposites that somehow get stuck together in our heads) is familiar experience to just about everyone. If you try to quit smoking, suddenly you can’t think about anything but cigarettes. Or you go on a diet and develop an obsession with food that was never there before. I started thinking about dualistic thinking [...]

Daphne Merkin found little healing in her four decades of psychotherapy.

I subscribe to an online newsletter about literature that often introduces me to writers I’ve never heard of before. Today’s issue includes a short feature about Bruce Chatwin, an author who’s new to me. He died in 1989 after having led a remarkable life, traveling all over the world and making some notable friends. Author [...]

Our blue gourami is eating again, and Chris Osgood had his 400th win this week. There are two fishtanks in our bedroom. Recently Charlie had to move our blue gourami to a slightly larger tank. Blue Gourami immediately stopped eating–unprecedented for him–and Charlie faced the prospect of having to end the year by ending BG’s [...]

Larry King featured Barbra Streisand on the next-to-last-Larry King Live show last night. I actually met Streisand for a few moments back in the 1960s. Not a big event–we spoke for only a few seconds. But there’s a larger story about that night that I still think about. First, a digression. This Sunday I’m going [...]

It’s 28 degrees here this morning in Central Florida, about 40 minutes from Disney World. If Charlie and I go for our regular walk today (he says we will), we’re going to see some very happy dogs. They all seem to love low temperatures and the smell of the ground when it’s cold outside. We [...]

Sometimes I take my freedom for granted. My monthly trips to the prison where I volunteer are a reminder about the importance (and the gift) of the freedom to make choices.

After Dancing with the Stars ended last night, I turned on CNN and watched the first miner emerge from the Chilean mine where 33 miners have been trapped since August. This morning I got up just in time to see Miner #9 emerge from the rescue capsule. All day yesterday broadcasters were talking about a [...]

A virus brought both unpleasantness and luxury.