60 years now and it never gets easier — Objectively, our bodies are miraculous, but they are not particularly good looking. Projecting my own esthetic here, but isn’t a dog or cat or goat or piglet, an elephant or porpoise or sea otter or even an iguana or sturgeon, better looking than the most beautiful human? At least, when…

A week late because, well, vacation — After publishing a roundup of Medium reads from the first week of August, I formed a vague idea I might do it weekly. Every Monday, a week’s worth of delicious stories fresh off the shelf for your reading pleasure. Then, I went on vacation and all plans and routines went…

Why I stopped using my pen name — As I’ve entered a new chapter of my life, my priorities have shifted and my values have come into sharper focus. I’m becoming less fearful, though I have a long way to go before anyone would call me fearless. It’s Not All Downhill — Five Good Things About Getting Older Crow’s Feet writing prompt #12: the best aspects of agingmedium.com One side effect of this evolution is I no longer need…

It only has five ingredients including a secret ingredient you’ll never guess — Spoiler: it doesn’t look like the one in the photo when it’s done. But if I’d featured the slightly messy albeit much more blueberry-blessed yet badly plated cake I made, you might not have clicked. Cosmetic considerations aside, my cake tastes much better than the one in the featured image…

It’s not about always about me — Last month, busy with work and a condensed-term class for my master’s degree, I managed to publish only about half the articles I usually do. That’s okay. If I count the five papers I wrote for class, my writing output was no less than usual, just a bit less public…

Fire up the way-back machine and set the dial to 1932 — I must have been seven or eight the first time I tried banana bread. It was in home economics class. The topic was quick breads, which is a category of baked goods that includes muffins and loaves leavened with baking soda or baking powder instead of yeast. “Quick” because you…

And we can’t get off, so let’s make the most of the shared experience — The old cliché that it’s not about the destination but the journey is true. We travel in a 24-hour circle within a 7-day circle within a one-month circle within a 12-month circle, all within an 80ish-year circle. Then we get off the bus to continue the circle of life. Or…

Hey, what can you do? They’re family — First things first. What do you call a group of squirrels? A scurry. A scurry of squirrels. How perfect is that? Hi, I’m Plunkett. It’s been a minute, eh? Exactly six months by my count, from when I published an article about opening day at my Cypress Café. Opening Day at My New Cypress Café Restaurant makeover, squirrel editionmedium.com Life’s been…