Immigration lottery to be replaced by gladiatorial games
Ending a twenty-seven year history, the popular Immigration Lottery will be shut down. Originally intended to promote cultural diversity by making available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to natives of countries deemed to have low rates of immigration to the...A grown-up holiday manifesto
My two sons are grown and long out on their own. Yesterday the younger one texted me: “Is there anything you and Dad want for Christmas?” My heart sank a little bit. Sure, gift giving is fun, but how did this artificial extravaganza of exchanging stuff get to be...The Ghosts — Both Welcome And Not So Welcome — That Linger In My House
Given enough time, almost any house will collect ghosts. My house has plenty, even though I’m not one for hanging onto the past. Usually they creep in silently, like dust bunnies under the bed: When you see them, you know they must have been there for a long time, but...Damage Control: A Fable about Politics and Dirty Tricks
“Damage Control” – a short satirical play about a fictional senator facing a tough press conference on the eve of a dirty political campaign with grave consequences for civil rights – debuted in 2015, but is particularly relevant in the wake of the 2016...How to give a loved one permission to die
“You need to give her permission to go,” Maxine, the hospice nurse urged us. We were gathered at my grandmother’s home for a final visit. Coming together for this purpose was sad but it was also more joyful than I could have imagined. We sat with her and shared...The day my world changed
It was a blistering August day in Los Angeles. I fled the heat with my newborn son for that haven of air conditioned air: The mall. Shopping wasn’t an option — funds were tight for our little family. But the cool air and wide walkways were free (to us) and I could...The value of not knowing things
In my family, whenever a question arises that we don’t know the answer to, someone will invariably say, mock-wistfully, “If only there was a way to find out!” – usually while everyone is already reaching for their phones, gunslinger style, to see who’s fastest...OMG! I’m gonna die!
Sitting in the open door of the airplane. Nearly fourteen thousand feet below my dangling toes, the lovely Washington coast is a green and blue abstract. I know I am going to die. And I couldn’t be happier. From the time we first encounter death – usually the...Turning 60: A letter to my 50-year-old self
I turned 60 today and there are some things I wish I could have told my 50-year-old self. She was so worried. Dear me, Hey there, 50! It’s me, 60. Still alive, as you can see. You spent the whole year leading up to your 50th birthday in a stew of worry: What tortures...Free Stories
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