First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

I Can Do That!

I’m watchin’ Sis
Go pitterpat.
Said,
“I can do that,
I can do that.”

Knew ev’ry step
Right off the bat.
Said,
“I can do that,
I can do that.”

One morning Sis won’t go to dance class
I grabbed her shoes and tights and all,
But my foot’s too small,
So,
I stuff her shoes
With extra socks,
Run seven blocks
In nothin’ flat.

Hell,
I can do that,
I can do that.

I got to class
And had it made,
And so I stayed
The rest of my life.
All thanks to Sis
(Now married and fat),

I can do this.
That I can do!
I can do that.

Photo: 1975. Michael Bennett holding auditions for A Chorus Line

Springtime

Last night, hustling my dog through the last walk before bedtime, I was stopped by the sweet scent of jasmine. I blissfully sauntered back and forth a few times, before moving on to the mundane business at hand. Breathing in this first scent of spring made me feel hopeful.

Contest deadline is Thursday.

Exploding hydrangea by Fong Qi Wei

Rest Stop

Poster by Anthony Burrill

Roger Ebert, RIP

Through the years, I’d heard from colleagues in the movie business that Ebert was a generous guy and a tireless champion of independent film. But it wasn’t until I started reading his pithy reflections on culture, politics and the fragility of life, along with 800,000 other Twitter followers, that I got a sense of his grace. When I heard the news of his passing today, I literally gasped out loud, as if a good friend had died. I’d never met the man, but I feel like I’m a better person for his having walked the earth. And BTW, I totally agree with his sentiment expressed above.

Look Up

April 2013 night sky. (from kateoplis)

Upside of Aging

Just about everyday, I have a banana smoothie. It’s the tastiest when the bananas are really ripe. Until seeing this image I’d never thought about it as a metaphor.

Artwork from Stuff & Son

Contest: What’s Your Splurge?

What’s the best book you’ll read this year? The Times says it’s The TENTH OF DECEMBER, a new collection of stories by George Saunders. I was fortunate to attend a library event recently where Saunders read a short piece and talked about writing. I was struck not only with his wit and intelligence, but great humanity. This book is wonderful and can be yours, if you submit the winning entry for our contest.

To enter, answer the question: what’s your splurge? This is partly inspired by one of the stories from the collection in which a father wins some lottery money and splurges on his family. Also, I’ll be announcing the winner on tax day, April 15. So share with us one thing you dream of splurging on. (The scale of the splurge is up to you.) Submit your entry using the Comments section. Include your first name. If you win, we’ll email for your U.S. shipping address, and telephone number. By submitting you’ll become an FPS subscriber (if you’re not already). Please submit only one splurge per entry, though feel free to enter as often as you like. Deadline is April 10, 2013.

Here’s to Renewal

Creative Boost

 “Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” Salvador Dali

My hairstylist is an artistic genius. I sit in her chair, and let her do whatever she wants. But today, for the first time in our 10-year relationship, I brought in a page from a fashion magazine of a haircut I really liked. I was a little timid about it, not knowing how she’d react. Would she get put off at my suggesting she copy someone else’s vision? Of course not. She loved the haircut, and told me how much she appreciates drawing inspiration from whatever sources she can. That’s inspiring.

Photo of Salvador Dali and quote from this isn’t happiness 

Desert Food

I’ll be posting 2 favorite recipes from my Seder this week, but first I wanted to highlight a moment from yesterday’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court. As these hearings were so monumental, I suggested to my Seder guests that we start the evening by watching Rachel Maddow’s analysis of the day at Court. She played these opening remarks by attorney Ted Olson, who was giving the Justices context about Proposition 8. (The bold emphasis is mine.)

Mr. Olson: “….It walls-off gays and lesbians from marriage, the most important relation in life, according to this Court, thus stigmatizing a class of Californians based upon their status and labeling their most cherished relationships as second-rate, different, unequal, and not okay.”

I looked around at everyone else in the room who all happened to be married (actually one was widowed). And for a brief moment, I felt like a second-class citizen.

Happily, let’s move on to food.     Continue reading »