Author Archives: sputterpub

Then Merle became agitated under a strong impulse. It began when she read a news story about the Marshall Islands. Although many have chosen to disbelieve the calculations about global warming, those small Central Pacific islands are already becoming tinier … Continue reading →

I’ve known women who didn’t want children because they’d been the oldest of a large brood; they’d already done the job. And I’ve known a pathetic few who had such a toxic relationship with their own mothers that they wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Merle makes a big deal about everyone’s name but her own. She finds significance in Oz, she lectures on Lazlo, she validates Vyvyan. But she never tells her full name if she can avoid it, and she always says that … Continue reading →

I can use the shower as an illustration. The only daughter of one of our college friends is engaged to be married. Isabella is 33. Her mother Joan is a sweet woman. True she sometimes drives me nuts with all … Continue reading →

Molly has told me that she never really believes that other people feel the way she does. She says she’s single now for the simple reason that she can tolerate loneliness better than boredom. She doesn’t seem to understand why … Continue reading →

Molly used to worry about her son. He was a behavior problem from the age of three. They were referred to child psychologists when he was in pre-school, and she has written reports predicting that he’d never make it through … Continue reading →