February 29, 2020
The Truth About My Mother
I’m delighted to share my story “The Truth About My Mother,” published this week in…
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December 30, 2019
Happy New Year.
I’m back to wish you happy holidays. It’s December in California, and rain patters on…
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February 26, 2019
Book Launch and Reading in San Francisco
Folio Books Thursday, February 28, 7 p.m. ~ 8 p.m. 3957 24th Street, San Francisco Join us for…
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August 21, 2018
Oklahoma — It’s about love.
photo by Jenny Graham/Oregon Shakespeare Festival Lights dim. Overture begins. My vision blurs. I know…
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August 4, 2018
Far From the Tree, the movie
directed by Rachel Dretzin, based on the book by Andrew Solomon I read Far From…
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March 14, 2018
A Lesson in Communication from Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking I am saddened to learn about the death of Stephen Hawking. He will…
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February 10, 2018
Rules
My flash nonfiction story appears in The Sun this month in time for Valentine's Day. …
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December 31, 2017
The Year That Was — 2017
Dear Friends, I’m always amazed, envious really, at your ability to capture the best moments…
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October 17, 2017
Finding Beauty in NICU
Spinning takes the reader on a journey no mother wants. Janine Kovacs’ twins, delivered at…
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August 23, 2017
You Never Know Who You’ll Meet at SFO
Credit: Wellesley College “Is this the line for TSA-pre?” I asked the woman at the…
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July 26, 2017
Why Read About Kidney Disease If You Don’t Have To?
Hundreds of Interlaced Fingers, A Kidney Doctor’s Search for the Perfect Match by Vanessa Grubbs,…
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June 30, 2017
5 Truths from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Gary and I saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in New York…
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June 21, 2017
The Most Disturbing Site in the Grand Tetons and 2 Things You Can Do.
We just returned from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Hiking. Rafting. Exploring. I was…
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June 14, 2017
The Surprise at the Top of Yellowstone’s Iconic Waterfall
“This is not a hike for climbers without experience at high altitudes,” the ranger warns…
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May 31, 2017
Not Always Happy
Not Always Happy by Kari Wagner-Peck is not about raising a child with Down syndrome.…
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May 17, 2017
The Perfect Prom Dress
Try to find a prom dress for an 18 year-old who uses a wheelchair, needs…
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February 21, 2017
Audition Day
I'm a guest blogger today on the Listen To Your Mother website. Audition Day! Harriet’s Story…
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December 8, 2016
Have You Seen Santa?
It’s that time of year again, and hidden amidst the gazillion catalogs are the holiday…
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December 4, 2016
Three pictures from El Paso-Juarez
A week after returning from our Thanksgiving holiday in El Paso, and I continue…
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November 22, 2016
A Sad Day in Our Nation’s History
Fifty-three years ago today, I sat in my English class in Dallas and doodled spirals…
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October 24, 2016
Don’t Mess With My Yard Sign
Saturday afternoon, I came home to find my Clinton - Kaine yard sign gone,…
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October 1, 2016
I’m Doing This for Her
I’ve never volunteered in an election before. OK, I admit, maybe for Eugene McCarthy. Remember…
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July 21, 2016
Thrilled
If you missed me in person, here I am reading at the ListenToYourMother show in San…
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July 5, 2016
The Horse Boy’s Dad
"Following a child's interests, going with what motivates them, spending time in nature, and if…
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May 11, 2016
Beach Tires
I'm very excited to see my story, "Beach Tires", in Hippocampus Magazine. Ariela was very…
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May 4, 2016
Pink Champagne
This story was recently published in Brain, Child Magazine. Ariela loved to party. She had great friends…
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April 15, 2016
Abandoned
The five-year old girl sat waiting in her wheelchair. When she tried to speak,…
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April 7, 2016
Salsa San Francisco
Twenty guys, or maybe thirty, in less than one hour. That’s how it goes with…
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March 2, 2016
American Royalty: It’s Not What You Think
KEHINDE WILEY The Two Sisters, 2012. Oil on linen. I’m insecure about art. I don’t…
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February 10, 2016
More than a Cookie
It’s Girl Scout cookie time. I bought a couple of boxes a few days…
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January 9, 2016
Holiday in Old San Juan
The banners say, “Lomito de los Vientos” (Hill of the Winds), and I wonder if…
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December 5, 2015
Hiking Hueco Tanks, Texas
“Don’t put your hand in the holes. There could be a snake or tiny…
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October 30, 2015
Another Reason to drive to Ashland, Oregon
That’s not snow in the photo. That’s the Rogue River as it races its way…
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October 27, 2015
Great Theater in Ashland, Oregon
Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2015 I left the theater crying after “Sweat.” It wasn’t just the…
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October 21, 2015
3 Reasons to drive 7 hours to Ashland, Oregon
Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2015 “When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky…”…
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September 5, 2015
The Visitor
I went to see Ariela’s gravesite yesterday. Skylawn is about a mile from the Pacific Ocean.…
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June 30, 2015
Free Concerts in San Francisco.
Inside Old St. Mary's, photograph by Kevin G. McGlynn This was published today in Huffington…
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June 17, 2015
Rolling Along in Cuba
Gary handed me a CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso used by tourists) and motioned to…
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June 6, 2015
5 Truths from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
On Sunday night, Broadway will hand out Tony Awards. The Curious Incident of the Dog in…
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June 3, 2015
Cuban Creativity
The artist who sketched my portrait was so fast that I didn’t know I…
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May 29, 2015
Finding Holiness in Guantanamo, Cuba
As we leave Santiago de Cuba, we see less and less cars. Except for the…
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May 21, 2015
PICU
This story was published recently in The Big Roundtable. Ariela had many hospital stays. The…
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May 12, 2015
Need a ride?
Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle ran a story about Leap Transit and other new alternatives to…
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May 8, 2015
Santiago de Cuba
We flew from Miami to Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city in Cuba. First…
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May 6, 2015
Harriet and Gary Go To Cuba – Installment 1
Cuba. Sounds like a fun, carefree vacation on a tropical island. Just grab your swimsuit…
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April 9, 2015
Passover Sedars – Past and Present
I never liked Passover when I was a kid. Sedars were long and tedious. We…
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April 7, 2015
3 Lessons from Pre-K
I read a story in Huffington Post last week about teaching kindness in kindergarten. Who…
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March 16, 2015
Ariela’s Friends and Mine
Ariela’s friends come to see me. I like to think they are my friends, too.…
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March 5, 2015
Saying What She Wanted
The Huffington Post recently ran this blog post: “Man With ALS Tells His Wife 'I…
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March 2, 2015
Saving the Planet
Last week, President Obama vetoed legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, a major move…
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February 21, 2015
Not Your Typical Artist
Hoopoe by Ariela This story was published today in Huffington Post. The ad in Craigslist…
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February 11, 2015
Puerto Rican Invitation
Last week, we joined my sister and brother-in-law for a vacation in Puerto Rico. We stayed at a…
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January 23, 2015
A Question for Stephen Hawking
NASA/JPL-Caltech I just saw The Theory of Everything. I put off going, afraid to see…
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January 11, 2015
Home Health Care
Stein’s article in The Atlantic gives readers a peek into home life with a child with significant…
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December 30, 2014
On the Border
“So, Jack, is it safe?” I asked my brother. “Yes,”he answered. I detected a bit…
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December 25, 2014
A New Friend
Annunciation House. An unmarked red brick building in El Paso. Families wait here. They are…
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December 21, 2014
Navajo Country
We enter Navajo Country (“the res” we hear Native Americans say). Little about this country…
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December 16, 2014
Grand Canyon
“Get up! Gary, get up! You have to see this!” I was yelling over my…
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December 3, 2014
Ai Weiwei
Thanksgiving weekend. Five houseguests. Each with a different idea about football, stuffing and pumpkin pie.…
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November 18, 2014
November 17
Today is Ariela’s birthday. She would have been twenty-seven. We always celebrated with a party…
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November 5, 2014
Say what?
At an event last weekend, an acquaintance wanted to know how I was doing. “Are…
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October 21, 2014
Unsolicited Advice
My ninety-five year old uncle called me after Ariela died, right after Shiva, the Jewish…
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October 10, 2014
Book Drive
Ariela was never without a book. If she liked a book in a series, she’d…
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September 30, 2014
The Psychic
We went sightseeing at the Baltimore Harbor last weekend. It was a warm Sunday afternoon,…
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September 21, 2014
Boys in the Bushes
Boys in the Bushes by Ariela I picked up Ariela’s painting yesterday. It was in…
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September 8, 2014
Winning Ticket
Friends invited us to spend an extended weekend at a resort north of Puerto Vallarta.…
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August 19, 2014
Rico
People want to know if Rico misses Ariela. If you need to ask, you have…
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August 13, 2014
Get away
Gary wanted to get away. As if leaving our home was some rite of passage…
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August 12, 2014
Sunflowers
San Mateo Farmers’ Market. My Saturday ritual. Fish from Mission Seafood. Lettuce from Tomatero Growers.…
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August 4, 2014
Not Her Real Name
Self-portrait by Ariela Ariela didn’t want me to use her real name. I’m hoping that…
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