Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
After more than thirty years, I have come to loathe New England winters, specifically the ones in the Hudson Valley where I reside with my family in an 1890’s barn. Not withstanding the freakishly mild one we are having this year, I generally start whining to anyone who’s within spitting Read more
They showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away But they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done… —Billy Joel, “Only the Good Die Young” My parents might have had a better Read more
The phone won’t stop ringing. First, it was a call from the dentist. Then my daughter’s doctor confirming her appointment on Monday. Then work. Then work again. I’m on deadline and trying to get the software to stop crashing every time I try to save one of my edits. The Read more
In the spring of 2014, I stepped up to a podium in the Brown Auditorium Theater of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The place was full and the audience attentive, expectant. They had just seen my documentary, “Martin Elkort: An American Mirror” about my father, and I was unsure Read more
Even with this clear instruction recorded on my phone’s greeting, invariably, friends and family will still leave me little messages that sound something like this–not ranked in order of annoyance. “Hi, it’s Karen. I know I’m not your mother, but please call me.” “Oh, hi. Ha ha. Funny. Call me. Read more
I have two little girls, and I tell them they’re pretty all the time. I’m their daddy, and I think they really want me to see them as pretty. So I acknowledge that I do in fact think they’re pretty. I think they should grow to want to receive regular Read more
I. It’s spring and you’re holding a lime margarita. Pedestrians pass, wearing black sequins and riding boots. Next door, a bar is playing “Wagon Wheel” and the sun is down, glowing like hot coal. You’re wearing jeans, a cardigan and dark lipstick. “You look pretty, Momma,” I say. “Yeah,” Read more
My daughter has half a brain. No, really. She does. Allow me to explain. Sasha arrived on a Friday morning, in late-February. She was three weeks early and weighed 4.5 pounds. Aside from her low-birth weight, she was perfect. Words I used to describe her babyhood included happy, giggly, curious, Read more