Each winter, I wonder how many brain cells I surrender to central heating. With my sinuses growing ever drier as I huddle indoors, I find my mind playing tricks on itself. My brain, like my body, longs for sunshine and outdoor activities. Amidst the gloomy gray of these January days, perhaps what we need is… Continue reading The Umbrella

Each year, as I struggle through winter, I wonder when I'll remember to buy a sunlight therapy light. Maybe next year, I tell myself as I count down the days until spring. Just before Christmas, literary aficionados everywhere lost a brilliant writer: Joan Didion, whose life was etched with an unthinkable series of tragedies. This… Continue reading Winter’s Promise

We have made it to the new year, and already I’ve broken one of my resolutions. I’m in good company: Although over 45 percent of Americans make resolutions, only 8 percent keep them. I did a little research and found out that the tradition of making resolutions dates back to the Babylonians. More recently, John… Continue reading The Sandpiper’s Conundrum