It was at least a decade before I knew that her real first name was Irene--she always went by Dolores... Continue Reading →
To Live is an Awfully Big Adventure
The Only Genius in the Room
Friday night, twentyish people gathered in a standard-sized apartment to wish happy birthday to some dear friends of mine. Of course, every party of this nature has that one guy--the Arrogant Drunk. This is the guy who, no matter what conversation he butts into, must prove himself the Smartest, Funniest, or Coolest person in that... Continue Reading →
A Toast
This is my brilliant, talented, accomplished, kind, thoughtful, beautiful baby sister. She probably hates it when I call her that--'baby sister'. Julie and I are six and a half years apart, but despite that, we are incredibly close. Whenever I finished a new writing project, she was always the first person I trusted to read... Continue Reading →
What It Takes
The line went down the stairs and wrapped around the library lobby, but I got through it in less than half an hour. That was better than the two-hour wait for early voting. I had checked in, and was waiting to get my signature verified, when I caught a snippet of a conversation going on... Continue Reading →
Beer, Wine, and Spirits
I wandered between the cozy little high-walled booths with their stained-glass backs, porter in hand, past the cigar room with its overstuffed armchairs and roaring fire, to glimpse the wall above the bar counter, where, couched between some antique musical instruments, was a tarnished clock. It read 11:45--fifteen minutes to midnight. ...Fifteen minutes to Halloween.... Continue Reading →
Extreme "Get Off My Lawn"
My neighborhood is very nice, to begin with. Sure, there’s a definite weirdness factor, but for the most part, the houses are well-kept, and the people are friendly and welcoming. There’s a guy about my age across the street taking care of his chronically ill mom, there’s the constantly late couple who always stop to... Continue Reading →
Commando
The legendary, Grammy-winning blues musician Muddy Waters, it turns out, lived out his final years in my little town. He thought it was the best place on Earth. You know this guy, even if you don't know him. He's the dude who wrote that blues song that's been featured in a million movies and commercials. ... Continue Reading →
When will I ever need this?
My current project at work has me emailing every country in the world to ask them questions about their nurse laws. It's a very cool project, but it presents a couple challenges, the obvious one being that I can't always rely on the person on the other end being able to understand English. We've had... Continue Reading →
Another Day in the Neighborhood
It's weird around here. I'm pretty used to it at this point... Continue Reading →
Everything You Need to Know if Episode VIII is Your First Star War: A Beginner's Guide
Thursday Afternoon, in a random corner of the internet... It was a period of great anticipation. In the midst of my countdown to the Star Wars premiere, my friend Kelli contacted me with a problem that I was uniquely suited to assist with: she had the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend a private... Continue Reading →
Laura Writes 