Category Archives: Guest writer

By Marlene Samuels Almost everyone in my family had some kind of crazy weird foreign accent, as did almost everyone in our immigrant Montreal neighborhood. Jake, my brother, and I had a saying between us: “If you’ve got an accent … Continue reading →

By Patricia LaPointe My Grandpa Pasquale was my best friend when I was four-years-old. He had to be. I was given the American female version of his name. He understood more English than he could speak so I needed to … Continue reading →

By Patricia LaPointe Nick hears her in the kitchen. He worries she’ll not come to him by seven o’clock. He’ll ask her about the time. He never stays in bed after seven. As he waits, he wonders who is that … Continue reading →

By Suzy Beal We headed for Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Forest Grove. As a kid stuffed in the family station wagon with six other siblings and my parents, it was a long, boring ride. It took three hours to … Continue reading →

By Faith Ellestad Every year, I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday, because it heralds the emergence of Old Tom Turkey. And I don’t refer here to meat. You know that thing you wanted so much as a child but … Continue reading →

By Ellen Magee In September 2019, we first heard about F-35 military jets coming to the Air National Guard at the Dane County Airport, a half mile from our Northside home.  There had been a gathering, sponsored by the Air … Continue reading →

By Patricia LaPointe Way back when I was married to my first husband and had four kids under the age of six, we would occasionally be invited to my in-laws for dinner. This was not my favorite thing to do, … Continue reading →

By Pat Detmer Dad was dying and in Intensive Care, so hooked up with wires and tubes that it made the digital tangle behind my office desk look minimalist. He’d failed to take care of himself and was paying for … Continue reading →