Jan M. Flynn

With apologies to Mary Oliver Image by Nathan Osman  from Pixabay  . . . Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? That’s the line from Mary Oliver’s gorgeous poem “The Summer Day”  which is quoted so often it’s sadly close to meme status. I mean, there’s practically an entire category of Mary Oliver merch, much of it bearing that line, just on Amazon. Which I am not linking to, since Amazon is one of the three places, both literal and online, t

That sounded wrong: Allow me to explain Image by Zdeněk Chalupský from Pixabay Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, partly because of what it doesn’t include. It doesn’t involve wrapping a shipping container’s worth of presents. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Thanksgiving cookie exchanges, white elephant gifts, or themed muzak (although, admittedly, big box stores have been piping out Christmas musick since the day after Halloween). Instead, this is a day centered

Image by Petra   from Pixabay This was one of those unexpected gifts of the aging process. My husband was driving as I gazed out the window at the street just off downtown. We were heading to a writer friend’s signing event at our favorite indie bookstore. About three blocks from our destination, we reached a section that is quietly burgeoning with new cafés, galleries, shops, and a sleek coffee house.  As a coffee aficionado, I am always alert to venues that offer a perfectl

On the day after Halloween, what country did we wake up in? Image by manfred Kindlinger from Pixabay Halloween’s over The real nightmare begins now For kids on food stamps In America Where one in eight citizens Depended on SNAP (FYI: SNAP is food stamps, in case you weren’t clear). But, so what? A gilded ballroom Means more to our President: Kids can’t even vote Those who’ve never known Hard times, bad luck, injustice Know where to place blame Simple formula: Some people mad

This country can break your heart or make it sing, and sometimes both Image by Wynn Pointau x from Pixabay 1953 : With forceps and squalls, I am ushered into the world, along with approximately 3.97 million other brand-new Baby Boomers.  1953–1961 : The Eisenhower years. I’m a pudgy white girl growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Like every other kid I know, I want a coonskin hat just like Disney’s version of Davy Crockett, and a Daisy rifle. But I’m a girl, so I get a

Image by Melk Hagelslag from Pixabay . . . with apologies to those who are serious aficionados of the form Back when we were young...

Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay There is a poem that haunts me: Lying in A Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota...

Image by Rich Enders  from Pixabay My husband and I walked into the vast, domed chamber of our local aquatic center. We were there to...

That includes the family china and silver Image by Mert Özbağdat from Pixabay Last week, my husband and I came very close to moving on...

Image by Leopictures  from Pixabay I’m walking to clear my head.  Once again, it has collected debris. There are sticky patches inside my...

Image by Wynn Pointaux from Pixabay I’m writing this on the eve of what is certain to be a historic day. It may well signal a tipping...

Image created with ChatGPT Image Generator (AI is good for some things, after all) “The past is never dead. It’s not even...

Image by Norbert Pietsch  from Pixabay If you’re a woman of a certain age who is anywhere near social media these days, the algorithms...

How about we all show up on time for online meetings? Image by Angeles Balaguer from Pixabay Prior to 2020, video conferencing was still...

The GOP Reconciliation bill: Worse than a poison pill I’m sure you’re aware that the House of Representatives passed its hotly contested...

Image by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay Here’s a one-item quiz. Not long ago, if you had told me I was out of control, I would have...

Avoid falling victim to the Qatari Jumbo Jet Con There’s a sucker born every minute, but they aren’t usually President: image created in...

Image created in ChatGPT Image Creator Panem et circenses — bread and circuses. Sound familiar? Attributed to a Roman poet and satirist,...

One of the more modest of DJT’s alter egos: AI image created in ChatGPT image generator Pay no attention to those plunging poll numbers ,...

Pretty sure the Devil made this one Image by Airgil Daviss  from Pixabay The river birch tree we planted in our yard fifteen years ago...