In the summer of 1979, just after my junior year in college, my father, Paul, saw me off from a train platform at Grand Central Station. He was 55, and had just lost his job as a schoolteacher in Connecticut. I’d been home for a week, and he’d asked me to stay longer, but I … Read more
My dear, sweet stepfather suffers from Alzheimer’s and — more recently — was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. We were watching TV, and I turned to a channel playing an old movie. On the screen a blond actress was cracking wise. I said, “Maybe that’s Carole Lombard.” He shook his head: “Jean Harlow,” he corrected … Read more
When I first arrived in Chicago, in the summer of 1979, my eyes felt like they wanted to split apart. Earlier, in my teens, I’d been diagnosed with exophoria (or maybe exotropia), which is the eyes not working together. I’d done “eye push-ups” and other exercises — but until that summer I never felt like I had to … Read more
I guessed Spencer Tracy — and apparently, that was was the right answer!! (My stepfather’s favorite actor.) Rough excerpt from my current phone call with a new AT&T person: AT&T: How to may I help you? (Not an English-speaker; not clear whether man or woman.) Me: I need to move my mom’s phone service. AT&T: $#$!#%%#!$^#$^! … Read more
The guy at AT&T told me that my mom hadn’t yet ordered her services to be transferred to her new apartment. The bill is in her husband’s name. I explained that my stepfather has Alzheimer’s. The AT&T guy told me that I need to answer this security question: Who is my stepfather’s favorite actor? I … Read more