Just Me

Sometime last week, I started coughing – a lot. I didn’t pay much mind to it, but I guess I should have. I woke up on Thursday morning with chest pain, the sensation that my lungs were on fire, and it hurt to breathe. I went to see a doctor and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, possibly pneumonia. I was given a prescription for antibiotics and send on my way. I had asked if I was contagious and the doctor said yes.   Hello, quarantine! I was holed up in my bedroom after I got home with the antibiotics. Meanwhile, my teen son spent the evening disinfecting the house.   Now, normally, when I am in quarantine, I spend that time reading and writing. But I couldn’t do either of those things on the first day. I felt so terrible and reading made my head hurt. I actually spent that first day in bed, sleeping. I tried interacting with others on BlueSky, but it got to be too much to keep up with while only using my smartphone, so I put that off until I could get...

When it comes to politics, I try to avoid discussing it with other people. I respect other people’s decisions and choices and I won’t cut ties with them based on who they vote for.   But it’s when they start to act on the negative and hateful ideas pushed forward by certain politicians where I draw the line.   Until now, I have not had to do this. I know other Trump-supporters online who have posted things, but they never actively started being racist, homophobic, misogynistic liars towards others in real life. However, with the spate of so much hateful and racist content being posted on social media, it can be a sign that this is someone to avoid.   This is especially true if we work in the same field.   I have zero interest in working with two-faced people. An example is someone who is being hateful, homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist and ableist to others both on and offline, but sweet and kind to me. Would I want anything to do with such a pe...

  (Note: This is an excerpt from a memoir I am writing. Certain passages have been removed for brevity. Certain names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals.)   My sisters and I often headed out to the mall after school. One store we always went to was Waldenbooks. I remember how I’d walk into Waldenbooks with empty hands then walk out carrying a stack of books I bought. Well, it was at Waldenbooks where I met Jake. Jake worked at Waldenbooks and it wasn’t long before he caught my eye.   Unfortunately, I learned that Jake was 21 years older than me!   Still, my heart fell for him hard. We started talking on the phone for hours then we got to a point where I was often at his apartment. However, because of our age difference, Jake tried to keep things platonic. The problem was, neither of us could keep our hands off of each other, and at one point we almost went all the way. Jake, however, put a stop to things. He insisted that we just be ...