First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

Catch Me

For months, I’ve felt like I was falling through space, without firm ground in sight. I turned to my anchors – friends, older brother, grilled corn, Jon Stewart, a thick novel, prayer, ballet class, Martin Margiela shoes, and none did the trick, although come to think of it, perhaps they did. I plowed through every day. And yes, there were times I asked: would a husband make a difference?

Image: Failure to Engage by Kelly Reemsten

It All Boils Down to Perspective

Photo: Venice, CA by Matt Dorfman

Good Enough To Eat

I have my father to thank for a wicked sweet tooth. It’s from him that I learned to plan meals around dessert. Luckily, I also inherited his skinny genes. Krispy Kremes are generally not my thing, but I love this painting by Joël Penkman. Enjoy with immunity. It’s calorie free.

On the Up Swing

My jaw aches from 5 months of charting through sorrow and change. As I ease my way out, my body remains on high alert, as if still prepared for flight or fight. I wish I didn’t worry so much, now that things are looking up. Healing is slow.

Image via newyorkshitty

Stay Cool, My Friends

Celebrating the Right to Marry (Or Not)

Before marriage equality was a gleam in anyone’s eye, I took it for granted that my gay brothers and sisters would keep me company, forever, on the single path. But, I was wrong about that. And like my straight friends, most of the gay ones are coupled off, too. A few days ago, I received a lovely invitation in the mail to a same-sex engagement party, thrown at the prospective groom’s parents’ house. How gloriously far we’ve come, even if it gets a little lonely.

Image: Wedding Season, The New Yorker cover by Barry Blitt

Don’t Give Up On the Dream

Image: Marc Johns

An Anniversary Worth Shouting About

163 years ago, on July 19^th at 11 AM, the first women’s rights convention got underway in Seneca Falls, New York. 300 people attended, including 40 men, and from that gathering a document emerged, The Declaration of Sentiments. It contained 11 resolutions demanding religious, political and economic equality for women, and most radical of all, the right to vote. The press covering the convention gave it terrible reviews, with this printed in the Philadelphia Public Ledger and Daily Transcript: “A woman is nobody. A wife is everything. The ladies of Philadelphia … are resolved to maintain their rights as Wives, Belles, Virgins and Mothers.” Here’s to progress.

Image: Voice, 1993, by Ken Miki

The Power of One

Image: Joe Hughes

Gridlock

With no alternative, I’m about to head into what could be the worst traffic jam in L.A. history. Carmageddon awaits. Wish me luck!