Uncategorized – Lisa Meltzer Penn

The Ice-Cream Man

Sometime in September while I was sitting at my desk, a tinkling far-off tune floated through the window. My ears perked, in fact my whole body responded, and within moments, I was standing in the street craning my neck to discover the source of the haunting music. It got closer, but I still couldn’t seeContinue reading “The Ice-Cream Man”

DO THE HARD THING: An Exploration in 4 Parts

How do you do the hard thing? And how do you know when you’ve got it right?

Some years ago I found myself on a ropes course with a partner. High in the air, the object was to use teamwork to maneuver ourselves across twin tightropes to the opposite platform. We wore harnesses, and a safety net stretched below, so technically we couldn’t fall to our deaths. My partner turned to me for guidance. “Let’s just see how far we can get,” I said.

Michelle Obama Is My Birthday Twin

I share a birthday with a lot of famous people: Jim Carey, Betty White, Muhammad Ali, Benjamin Franklin, Zooey Deschanel, Maury Povich, Kid Rock, James Earl Jones, and Eartha Kitt. We were all born January 17th. Pretty cool, right? But the one that really counts for me is Michelle Obama. Michelle and I were born the exact same cold winter day: I entered the world a month early in the middle of a snowstorm in Syracuse, NY (My mom liked to say it was the last time I was early anywhere), and Michelle made her debut several hundred miles away on the south side of Chicago. The future FLOTUS and I were birthday twins.

What’s to celebrate?

Originally posted on AUDREY KALMAN:
There seems little to celebrate these days, and far too few ways to do so even if you have the inclination. Besides, the only kinds of parties you can have are those that happen outdoors, at a distance, or on a video conferencing app. So I thought it might be…

The Book Stack

In mid-March, just before the public libraries closed for what would turn out to be a very long time, I stopped by my local branch in hopes that two of my book club holds had arrived. (I’m in three separate book clubs these days.) They had not made it to the shelf in time. SoContinue reading “The Book Stack”

I’m Back!

I am Lazarus, rising from the dead. I am the Phoenix from the fire. I am a cicada on a pre-ordained cycle, crawling up from my long sleep in the ground. My children have grown up since I last posted on this blog. One is in college, and one at the height of high school.Continue reading “I’m Back!”