“There’s a crack in everything. That is how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen It was winter and I was mad. “You can’t play with us,” my brother said, tossing rubber pucks on our backyard rink. I waved my stick around and skated backwards. I pointed to my Canadians jersey as ...

In 1982, I stood outside the dressage arena at the Franklin County Fair in Malone, New York. Groomed and braided, Holly the horse and I baked in the oppressive heat and swirling dust of Adirondack August. Stuffed in a stiff polyester jacket, I yanked at my stock tie, a complicated noose-like ...

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” — Hamlet (Act I, Scene IV), William Shakespeare I have a horse named Penny. I bought her for a dollar, whose value plummeted through no fault of her own. - Just between us girls - Penny began her life adored by two girls who ...

Two weeks into 2026 and I am curious; how are your resolutions going? Still enjoying the 5 a.m. reveille for CrossFit? Did you quit the job, dump the jerk, move away, get bangs and develop strong opinions about chia seeds? Maybe you wrote your list on a napkin, or carefully doodled in a ...

Eat it and beat it” was our mantra at Casa del Sol, especially on New Year’s Eve. Sequined or flannel-clad patrons came early and bolted by 9:30 to catch the fireworks — except one night in 1993. It was a charged atmosphere. Two hour wait by 5:30. The only thing moving faster than ...

“Santa’s Watching” was a dead-stop phrase thrown down year-round with the power to stop nefarious marshmallow-hoarding of Lucky Charms. The Naughty List was real, and I wanted toys. Compliance was a struggle for me; I was hardwired to push back and ask why. By December, though, it was ...