Published in GALLIVANTRESSES, UNLIMITED·PinnedMember-onlyGallivantingLet’s go on ALL the adventures — Travel1 min readTravel1 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·PinnedSo we begin“Thus reader, I am myself the matter of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your time on so frivolous and vain a subject. So farewell.” Michel de Montaigne wrote this at the opening of his monumental book, Essais (Attempts.) I wonder how seriously he meant that. …2 min read2 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·12 hours agoMember-onlyMedellin Musings 10“Lucky me” — I am privileged. That’s easy enough to say. But what follows from that admission? What changes once that reality is acknowledged? Speaking only for myself, nothing much. I don’t know what’s worse. Not understanding that your good fortune is not deserved, or in my case, understanding that it’s not deserved…3 min read3 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·1 day agoMember-onlyMedellin Musings 9BJust another city Saturday — David and I gathered our courage and accepted an invitation to have wine with a new friend Saturday after our museum trip. What need for courage? It’s not like we were attempting to free-climb El Capitan or navigate a motorbike through the streets here. It’s simply part of being in…3 min read3 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·2 days agoMember-onlyMedellin Musings 9AJust another city Saturday — Have I mentioned I love cities? Well, let me say it again! And it won’t be the last time. I have never understood the allure of the suburbs, even though I grew up in one. Pre-adolescence, it was great for playing with friends on the block. But once I realized…3 min read3 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·3 days agoMember-onlyMedellin MusingsLa Musica — 1 min read1 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·4 days agoMember-onlyMedellin MusingsGenesis — I am writing this from Envigado, a community bordering the city of Medellin, in the state of Antioquia, Colombia. If you had asked the young Pamela Bongiorno, back in the early 1960s about such a possibility, I’m fairly certain she would have said, yes, please. I grew up in a…4 min read4 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·4 days agoMember-onlyMedellin Musings 8House Call — In my experience as a human female, it is not possible to avoid a relationship with products and procedures designed to augment physical allure. Avail yourself or not, it is a choice. In my youth, when I’d gripe about the uncomfortable rollers I used for setting my hair, my Aunt…3 min read3 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·Mar 15Member-onlyMedellin Musings 7Google Translate: Cheat or Sweet? — Did you ever wonder how all those alien species in Star Trek managed to communicate so beautifully, and in perfect English no less? Lieutenant Worf, the Klingon, had no trouble telling Mr. Spock, the Vulcan, that the lasers should be on stun, or that the Romulan vessels were approaching at…3 min read3 min read
Published in Living the (Low-Stakes) Life- Montaigne and Me and You.·Mar 14Member-onlyMedellin Musings 6Hablemos! — My parents were the children of immigrants; their mother tongue was Sicilian. I am pretty sure I spent the first two years of my life hearing only that, as my parents lived in Queens, NY with my mother’s family. As soon as my father could swing it, he moved us…Spanish Language3 min readSpanish Language3 min read
