Category Archives: Moving On

Lucky Strike

Posted on August 21, 2016 by TRatner

Lucky Strike I bowled today for the first time in twenty-some years. It seemed like a good way to spend an afternoon with three young boys, my grandsons, who were on spring break. My motive—I wanted to expose them to … Continue reading →

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Bedtime Stories

Posted on August 21, 2016 by TRatner

Bedtime Stories I’ve always dreaded sleep. As a child, I’d read with a flashlight under my blanket convinced that turning in meant missing out on fun. I tried to train myself to sleep with my forearm upright, my head propped … Continue reading →

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SELFIES

Posted on January 18, 2016 by TRatner

SELFIES What do you really look like? Aren’t you the world’s leading authority on the subject? After all, we’ve looked at ourselves and studied our faces for years, not to mention with a life-or-death intensity, in all magnifications—lighted car visors … Continue reading →

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Driving Ms. Gracie

Posted on February 7, 2015 by TRatner

  On the Tuesday before New Year’s Eve, we packed up the car with two duffel bags, one cosmetic case, a hanging bag, cooler for snacks, and one Bedlington terrier named Gracie. But before you feel sorry for her, picture … Continue reading →

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Turning Sixty

Posted on February 7, 2015 by TRatner

Over the past few years, I’ve begun to feel age. I feel it when I turn my left arm sideways to grab something or when I extend it over my over my head (torn rotator cuff), but I decided to … Continue reading →

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WINDOW SHOPPING

Posted on October 28, 2014 by TRatner

  In the ‘90s, after my son, Sky, died in a motorcycle accident, while I was in the depths of my worse dreaminess, I began to order as many catalogs as I could. At least thirty mail order catalogues came … Continue reading →

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DOGS, LOVERS, AND LUMPS

Posted on October 28, 2014 by TRatner

You have to listen real hard to hear anything at all: the sound of tippy-toes on wood stairs, the soft tap of a paw on the bedroom door, the digging around in her bed to find a perfect spot for … Continue reading →

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A Slice of Paris

Posted on August 10, 2014 by TRatner

A Slice of Paris  Those of you who have followed my column, you know about my October 2013 diagnosis of breast cancer. Before you start feeling sorry for me and saying, “What a shame she has cancer”, I want you … Continue reading →

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SPACE

Posted on June 20, 2014 by TRatner

  Father has a space between his front teeth—he never cared to have it fixed. When he smiles, I notice the gap through which he whistles. My top teeth were buck with a space in-between. Overgrown central incisors with crooked … Continue reading →

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THE UPSIDE OF LOSS

Posted on November 11, 2013 by TRatner

THE UPSIDE OF LOSS This is where the past and the future meet. This is after my mother was killed by a speeding car, after my son died in a motorcycle accident, and after my husband passed away from esophageal … Continue reading →

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