Is It Safe?

April 8, 2016April 7, 2016 / roughwighting / 95 Comments

Six months already? I berate myself for being a spoiled brat.

I’m lucky I can have my teeth cleaned every six months. Many don’t have the means to take care of their teeth. And God knows, if a tooth begins to hurt, if that dull ache creeps up in the middle of a busy day, and hour by hour that ache goes deeper until it becomes a searing thunderous pain down into the root of your gum – the root of your being – then, then you’ll wish you’d had your teeth cleaned and checked every six months.

So, I brush away my grumpiness that I have to drive 20 minutes on a beautiful Friday afternoon to sit for an hour in a padded black seat – a seat that reminds me a bit about old movies with patients strapped in institutional chairs.

As I sit in the dental chair, my mind wanders to the movie Marathon Man and Dustin Hoffman and the quote “Is it safe?” – the scariest dental movie in history. Continue reading →

I Know What You Did

April 1, 2016March 31, 2016 / roughwighting / 72 Comments

This time, I choose to not answer the phone call.

I’ve had 13 of them, one every morning, at precisely 10:59 a.m.

The number does not identify the caller, so it’s no one I know. 277-453-6657.

When I take the call 13 days ago, I figure it’s a solicitation, but then again, it could be from Hollywood, accepting the screenplay to my latest book.

But instead, a deep, husky male voice proclaims: “I know what you did.”

Then, a click and silence. Continue reading →

How to Thicken Your Skin

March 25, 2016March 23, 2016 / roughwighting / 107 Comments

Apparently, my skin is not nearly thick enough.

In my world, skin shouldn’t have to be thick. I slather it with lotions to make it soft, sunburn-free, and smooth. I’ve never encountered a lotion claiming to:

“THICKEN YOUR SKIN! Lavender or Rose Scent. Never again let a mean word seep in.”

No, I rub lavender body lotion day and night to keep skin from drying out in the NE weather.

Apparently, that lotion has also thinned my skin.

At least, that’s my first guess when I go on the Amazon page for my book The Right Wrong Man and read – gasp – a bad review.

My stomach turns into a turnip, my eyes moisten, and my soul shrivels into a sniveling snail.

How could this reader be so…so… mean? Continue reading →

Searching for the Key

March 18, 2016March 17, 2016 / roughwighting / 95 Comments

I’m about to leave the house at 5:45 a.m. for a long seven-hour drive to Delaware to visit my mom.

I shower and dress and gulp down a quick cup of “wake-me-up” tea quietly so I don’t wake up my sleeping guy. I even tiptoe while hunting for my shoes and lugging my suitcase to the trunk of the car.

My mom is anxiously awaiting me. At 92 and diagnosed with dementia, days and hours and weeks all merge into one long wait for her. I want to get there as soon as possible for the weekend visit.

I walk to the hallway table, the one whose drawer holds all the keys to our life: cars, house, mailbox, and a few that are “mystery keys” (as in, what the heck does this key open?).

I reach for my car keys and stop in horror. Continue reading →

Have Your Cake and EAT IT TOO

March 11, 2016March 9, 2016 / roughwighting / 86 Comments

My mom shows her great-grandson how to eat cake.

The subject of aging seems to fascinate my daughter and son and their spouses. Most particularly,

A bd cake, no matter how you slice it.

…my aging. And my guy’s.

I haven’t figured out why. Perhaps it’s because of my upcoming birthday on the Ides of March.

They seem to expect some kind of terror in our response to their teasing, asking if we have “chair rails” on our new stairs – ha ha, and telling us that perhaps my guy is eligible to use the town’s “senior center.”