I have been welcoming them since 1978 — In 1977, my friend Susan invited me to a dinner that she was hosting for two visiting friends: Margaret from Sweden and Margaret’s friend Andy from England. During the course of dinner conversation, I learned that Margaret and Andy were on quite a long trip around the world. At that…

These have guided my relationships for more than forty years — When I was 28 years old in 1975, I joined a group of five men who met weekly with two terrific therapists named Joan Herzberg and Anthony Eschbach. …

What’s up with young folks’ complaints about “adulting”? — I don’t enjoy shopping, but I’d rather do it myself than outsource it to a shopping service. My goal when I enter any store is to find what I am looking for, make the purchase, and get the hell out. …

My week with the 2001 California AIDS Ride — All of us have seen the words E pluribus unum on our coins and bills. At some point in school we learned that this is Latin and that it means “Out of many, one.” As it applies to our nation, it conjures up the grand scale of multitudes who have…

There is so much more to see than the places overrun by tourists — [*Explanation of “Paris 101” for non-USA readers: In US colleges and universities, courses are numbered in a way to indicate their level of depth and degree of difficulty. Entry-level classes that may be part of basic requirements are commonly numbered as 101, such as Psychology 101, Chemistry 101, etc.] Paris…

My best way out was by plane, and I’m glad I did that. — I have had five travel experiences during which I arrived by either car, train, bus, or boat, and had intended to make the return journey the same way. But circumstances in each case led me to determine that my best way out of each situation was by plane. Alaska Highway…

Find me a find. Catch me a catch. — I was single for quite some time after my partner of eleven years told me, in 2001, that he simply wanted to be alone. Though it was twenty-one years ago, I remember his exact words: “I want to have my life myself.” Shocked, I first suggested couples counseling. That lasted…

What it’s like to be different from most of my co-citizens in many ways — 12. Money, consumerism, and status “Before you chase success, status, power, wealth, fame, or love, first fall in love with yourself — for the person you’ll be, if and when you get there, is still the same. …

What it’s like to be different from most of my co-citizens in many ways — 10. Cars “In a sense the car has become a prosthetic, and though prosthetics are usually for injured or missing limbs, the auto-prosthetic is for a conceptually impaired body or a body impaired by the creation of a world that is no longer human in scale.” Rebecca Solnit I am missing the…