My blog posts here have been pretty clear about how I feel about people in America faking their pet is a service dog to get them into places they are not allowed. So when news came out last Wednesday that the Department of Transportation (DOT) will no longer consider an emotional support animal to be […]

here’s some happy news: the Chicago Public Library contacted me last month to see if I’d be willing to lead a three-part memoir-writing workshop on Zoom. Thanks in large part to writers in my ongoing memoir writing classes who encouraged – and continue to help – me feel comfortable using Zoom, I could, with confidence, […]

I am pleased to feature author Regan Burke as our Saturdays withSeniors guest blogger today. News stories this month inspired me to assign “Transition Team” to her writing class this past week. “Focus on a significant change in your life,” I told them. “Who helped you through?” The long-awaited publication of Regan’s memoir In That […]

Trainers at the Seeing Eye school encourage us to talk to our dogs as they guide us. “Remind them you’re there,” they say. “It keeps them focused.” Since the pandemic hit, I’ve been taking one, and sometimes two, hour long walks with Luna every day. What happens when I run out of things to talk to […]

I am pleased to feature Marjorie Freed as our Saturdays with Seniors guest blogger today. Longtime Chicago residents might remember her as the owner of Nonpareil, one of the coolest shops on Clark Street back when Clark Street was full of very cool independently-owned stores. She and her husband Harvey collected outsider art and were […]