Author Archives: sputterpub

Yasmin

Posted on February 4, 2011 by sputterpub

    When I was 60 (November 2010), I got to see a little of Egypt. It was part of a Holy Land cruise, and I’ll admit that the Cairo stop was the big draw for me on the itinerary and, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

Brick Pathology

Posted on February 3, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 55, I took a bad fall. I lived in the cottage in North Berkeley then, and the house hunkered down on the banks of Codornices Creek, so it was lower than the sidewalk. The path from … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Poetry | Leave a comment

Smoke Detector

Posted on February 2, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 57, shortly after I moved into my small space in Berkeley, I fired up a smoke in the little shed/office across the deck from the one-room cottage. I won’t spend words defending that action; the smoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Coming Out

Posted on February 1, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 45, I had to declare my sexual orientation to my dinner companion. It was a weeknight and I’d just had a delicious meal and satisfying conversation with an accountant who’d become a friend and colleague, and we … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

What’s in a Name?

Posted on January 31, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was born my parents named me Marilynn Renée Cohn. My mother was particular about the two “n’s” in the first and my father had strong feelings about the accent in the second. They intended to call me Lindy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Question | Leave a comment

Instructions

Posted on January 28, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 11 or 12, I got an effective demonstration of why it’s a good idea to at least check out the instructions before starting a written test. I think it was 7th grade. I’m having trouble recalling the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, School | Leave a comment

Exotics

Posted on January 27, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 5 we had exotic neighbors. We moved into the house in Glen Cove in 1953 and they may have lived there then, but they didn’t make big impressions on me for a couple of years. We left … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Poetry | Leave a comment

Best Neighbor

Posted on January 26, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 9, I met Jeff. He was my platonic friend. His family moved in next door to ours, one similar house to the west of us, and stayed long enough to become close neighbors before they took … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | Leave a comment

Rapunzel

Posted on January 25, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 10 the Shirley Temple Storybook show was on TV every Sunday for awhile, and I was a fan. A bit later my parents gave me the storybook itself, a collection of about a dozen famous fables, … Continue reading →

Posted in Legends, Poetry | Leave a comment

Albert

Posted on January 24, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was almost 15, my next door neighbor gave me a kitten. My mother was not into pets but Dad prevailed earlier that year, and the family acquired a beagle we named Becky. Mom wouldn’t let Becky the … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters | Leave a comment