Monthly Archives: July 2014

That Time I Was Psychic

I was 26 and working for a book publishing company just outside of San Francisco. My job in marketing meant that I met with advertisers occasionally. Unfortunately for the ad reps, we had such small budgets for each book that we never really spent money, except maybe once or twice a year in the largest industry magazines. One of those magazines had just hired a new publisher, and he was doing the rounds of all the publishing houses in New York and California, meeting the important people who made decisions. And also meeting me.

When Rob walked into my office for the first time, he was wearing a suit and tie, something that no one wore there ever. Bay Area publishing? We were lucky if people had real shoes on. Read More>

|Categories: Age, Life, Relationships | Tags: , , , , | Permalink

An Underfunded Disease

“ALS is not an incurable disease.  It is an underfunded disease.”  – Stan Appel, M.D.

Last year, my husband Rob gathered a huge team of people to participate in the Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS. The event was held in September in Yountville, California on a gorgeous day. And I was nervous. It’s sometimes hard for me to prepare myself to be around other people with ALS, people who are further progressed than I am. I was afraid that what was meant to be a day of fun and accomplishment was instead going to be wildly depressing.

I am happy to report that I was wrong. Read More>

|Categories: Cure, Diagnosis, Doctors, Drugs, Life, Research, Therapy | Tags: , , , | Permalink

Happily Ever After

I was in the grocery store last week when the latest issue of The Atlantic caught my eye. The cover promised a story called “Why are all the Cartoon Mothers Dead?” This is something I’ve often wondered about, but the article wasn’t quite what I was expecting—the thesis being that the reason moms die in movies is so that dads can step up and play the role of both parents, showing that moms aren’t really necessary anyway.

The author made an interesting case, but it was in the comments section where I found something that rang more true to me. Moms die in movies, people were saying, because that’s the best catalyst for a good story. There’s no adventure, no real danger, when your mom is around to protect you. So that’s why moms, and sometimes both parents, have to be disposed of first. I don’t know why more of them couldn’t just go on vacation (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead) or stay normal sized while their children turn into Cheerios (Honey I Shrunk the Kids.) I’m just glad I was able to work in some of the movies from my own formative years here. Read More>

|Categories: Life, Parenting | Tags: , , , | Permalink