Words

  • What’s Not to Love?

    Here in Fairfax, it’s a hot night that smells like honeysuckle. There are people in this town who look like they haven’t changed a bit since 1972, when I was six years old. These are the long-haired, wide-eyed people of indeterminate sex who come out at dusk to dance in the park, turning in circles…

  • Who’s Your Granny?

    I drove from Berkeley to Big Sur this week, determined not to go faster than 60 mph. I had just paid for my first $4 gallon of gas and it freaked me out. I just can’t imagine spending $60 every week or so to fill my 15 gallon tank. And I know that one great…

  • Helvetica, You Were Robbed

    I just watched a full-length documentary film about a font. And I loved it. So much that, right now, I’m supposed to be filling out a ballot for tonight’s Oscar party, but I’m distracted by the total lack of support this feel-good flick received from the nominating committee. The film’s protagonist, the modern and good-natured…

  • Are You Sick?

    When I was in law school, I was sick half the time. It usually had something to do with my lungs. I had pneumonia. I had pleurisy. Bronchitis was routine. My close friend and classmate, Roger, was also regularly stricken with nasty bugs. When one of us collapsed under the weight of casebooks and even…

  • Peace at the Pump

    There’s something about a gas station that makes me stupid. I know I’m not the only one, because every new car boasts some kind of technology — even if it’s just a plastic string — to keep us from driving away with our gas cap loose on the roof. There are also fixes for more…

  • A Call to Beauty

    I didn’t know anything about the mind of John O’Donohue until last year. The poet, philosopher, and former Catholic priest gave an interview in The Sun magazine (April 2007) in which he noted that when we enter an intimate relationship with another person, we are hell bent on colonizing all the space between us. (I…

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    Getting Grateful

    Last night my friend Diane and I went to CafĂ© Gratitude. The food is flawlessly raw and organic, and everything from the water to the check is brought to your table with an affirmation: You Are Divine, You Are Youthful, You Are Adoring. Unfortunately, when You Are Hungry, it’s not so easy to hold adoration…