Thoughts, experiences and adventures from a resident of DelSo aka Delaware Avenue South in Albany, N.Y.
These last few days in the Black Forest have been filled with both emotion and memories. This is the first time I’ve come to this part of Germany, the area where my family comes from, since being here 7 years ago with my youngest son and my Uncle Wolfgang. Walking the stone streets of Freiburg … Continue reading Finding Wolfgang
I learned this week of the loss of a friend from high school. Before I go further, you should know a couple of things - first I hesitated to write “friend,” because it’s a word that suggests a connection and intimacy that I wasn’t certain I should claim there had been between Gary and myself. … Continue reading Death of a crusader
Over the years there have been a number of YA books that captured me completely and for eternity. Off the top of my head, I immediately think of The Book Thief, What the Night Sings and Free Lunch. Interestingly enough, each of these books relates a story of a young person or family struggling under … Continue reading Read this: The Rent Collector
I’ve mentioned before that I often find myself weepy when I’m in Ireland. If you know me at all, you’re aware that’s atypical of me. I’m not known to be a crier. On the occasions that I do get teary, it’s likely to be about children and animals, not songs or physical gestures. Last week, though, … Continue reading Writer’s tears
So far, the wettest thing (other than the Irish Sea - more on that in a minute), has been my cheeks. There’s something about being in Ireland, regardless of the number of times I’ve visited, that makes me weepy. When I visited Ireland the very first time, all flights from the states stopped at Shannon … Continue reading An eternal present
My youngest son recently began his last year as a teenager causing me to deeply exhale. I’ve been parenting teenagers for about 14 years now and frankly, I’m exhausted. There have been a lot of challenges and poor decisions made along the way, on both sides, and while I'm not one to wish time away, … Continue reading Hey, 19
Now that the first month of the new year is firmly in the rear mirror, it’s time to reflect on how things went during my very first attempt at avoiding alcohol (and other legal adult substances) for 31 days. As far as experiments go, I’d have to say that this one was a bit of … Continue reading Soaking in dry January
DelSo 