“When my mother passed 22 years ago, my siblings weren’t interested in most of her possessions (just as today, I’m told, many children don’t really want their parents’ old photos and dishes). But…

“As children grew, what did I need? I needed a man who rushed home from a rehearsal with not just a clarinet in his musician’s backpack, but buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken (no,…

“Now in my ‘golden years,’ with three grown sons, I’ve been wondering what to do with my old diaries. I began keeping a diary (in writer-speak ‘journaling’), when I received my very first…

“There are very few places anymore, in these times, where we can recreate the carefree security of the past, or even the illusion of it. Today, our children can’t even feel safe at…

“I’ve been thinking of my father lately; one night, I was remembering how he used to meet me on the corner when I walked home from my best friend’s house after dark. If…