The first time I won $1,000 gambling, I was playing the Enchanted Unicorn game in a small gambling parlor attached to Benny’s, my favorite local bar. Enchanted Unicorn has images of princes, […]
Confessions of a Gambler
When You Have to Share Your Birthday Month
I never expect much fanfare on my birthday. I wasn’t raised to expect it. My parents were practical, sober, working class people, stable but not particularly affluent. Some years my mom made […]
My Personal Time Capsule 2020
2020 has been a doozy of a year. Between a global pandemic and a fractious presidential election, many of us in the U.S. are ready to leave 2020 in the rearview. But […]
Exegesis of a Journey and a Poem
The winter holidays are on their way. Since leaving my hometown in Texas thirty years ago, I have spent almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas since driving or flying hundreds of miles to […]
Living With the Elephant
I’m wondering lately about how I can best live with the elephant in the living room. I want to ignore the elephant, but he’s large, weighing on average six tons. He never […]
Why I Fly the American Flag
I fly the American flag in front of my house to remind me of the radical freedoms I have as a U.S. citizen. As an American woman, seeing the flag as […]
My Son Is in Jail During the Pandemic
For any parent who loves an adult child who has ever been incarcerated, I’m writing this for you. For anyone whose adult child experiences mental illness and addiction. For anyone who has […]
Desperately Seeking Advice
I have always been a sucker for advice columns. I began reading “Dear Abby” as a child. The column could be found on the same page as the comics, crossword puzzle, and […]
Crime of the Month: A Missing Woman
One United Nations estimate says from 113 million to 200 million women around the world are demographically “missing.” Every year, from 1.5 million to 3 million women and girls lose their lives […]
Crime of the Month: Lunchables
People, it’s time to boycott the Lunchable. The Lunchable is a crime against children and humanity. With its shiny packaging printed in primary colors, the Lunchable is the Pied Piper of foods. […]
The Gloria Sirens 