by Lisa A Kramer

The young woman huddles into her coat, trying to stay warm against the slight autumn chill in the air. It's impossible, though, as her hair remains damp after an exhausting swim team practice.

"I wish I knew who was picking me up," she thinks out loud. "Why can't they ever be on time? They know when practice ends."

A few of her teammates tumble out of the locker room laughing as they jump into the waiting vehicle of one of the mom's.

"I'm going to close my eyes and count to 50, that will make them get here."

Eyes squeezed shut. "47 . . . 48 . . . 49 . . . 50."  She opens her eyes and  there's no sign of either her mother's little brown chevy or her father's gray oldsmobile.

"Urgh! Okay, this time I'll count until 100."

This ritual of magical thinking repeats and repeats until finally, success! A car appears.

"I knew that would work," she thinks as she gathers her belongings to get into the car.

 

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by Lisa A Kramer

When I was a senior in high school, I was voted most political. I didn't understand that then, except for the fact that I was one of the two senators representing my "house." My high school was huge, and we were divided into Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow houses--which mostly represented the color of the cafeteria and served as a guide for finding your classrooms. And, as divisions often do, it opened the space for rivalry.

So yes, I was a senator, but why was that the only accolade that I recieved? I never thought of myself as political. Heck, I barely thought I made a difference back then, or that anyone even knew me. (I can't remember exactly, but I think I might have won the senate seat because nobody else ran for the office. So" responsible, interested in helping the school. teacher's pet, outspoken . . ." those terms applied, but political?)
 

Many years have passed since then. 37 to be exact. And we all know that politics have become ugly. Many people who are comfortable in their privilege, avoid political discussions like the plague (although interestingly enough, many of those same people do not take steps to avoid Covid19). 

Now, perhaps I understand why I was labelled as political. In a country (the US) where there are more and more divisive politics every day, I can see why I might be labelled political. However, I have no desire to rule, or become a member of a political system so broken that it seems impossible to fix. Kudos to those who step into the fray and try to make change from the inside. 

Still, I rebuff the label "political" in exchange for the word 

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by Lisa A Kramer

Whenever the craziness and insanity of our world gets to be too much, I find myself turning to old favorite things for comfort. Sometimes that means putting in a good romantic comedy (When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, or The Holiday are my recent go to picks). But, more often than not, I search for comfort in all things related to children--movies, books, and television shows (even the most obnoxious ones from Disney). Of course, some of my go to comforts aren't specifically for children, but most of them filter the world through the eyes of childhood and reveal that children are much closer to simple truth than so many adults who think they know everything.

The past...

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by Lisa A Kramer

In a vibrant aquamarine sky, tiny white spaceships drop down toward the earth, similar in shape and movement to the old Atari Space invaders game. (Yes, I am dating myself). But the sky was blue, and the UFO's did not have evil-looking faces.

One of my recurring childhood dreams always began that way.

The scene would then shift, to a beautiful, crystal night sky sparkling with billions of stars. I sat on the front stoop of my childhood home, watching the beauty. The townhouses across the street sat quietly, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly a giant rectangle forms in the sky, and a movie starts to play in bright and vibrant colorful display. This internal movie...

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