A short story

my daughter wrote the story below, black boots, which recently appeared in her high school literary magazine. there have been moments i've experienced as a parent where one of my daughters does something that's so different from what either my husband or i would do---it sorta takes you back and reminds you that yeah, your kids are not you. this was one of those moments.


Black Boots
by: Samantha Rosenthal

Have you ever seen boots so damn perfect that they make actual tears flow down your cheeks like the rain that falls at Song Tra Bong? I have.

It all happened so fast. Boom, click, boom, and I'm down. Boom, click, boom, and it's over. The bullet didn't even hurt, no, not at first. The bullet crept into me like a snail retreating into his shell. It was like the bullet belonged there. Like it was seeking protection. It edged ever so slightly, making a perfect cove to crawl into. It felt like a jab in the stomach. Quick and insincere.

I expected to feel something, anything. God, I thought I might actually be inspired, is that crazy? I thought being shot would force me to face the war head-on. Have a few beers with the war, get to know it. But no, such a thing did not happen. Instead, all I could focus on was that nameless guy and his divine boots.

The boots shone like diamonds in a mountain of dirt. My mistress's eyes may be nothing like the sun but those boots sure were. The blackness of the boots was sleek and sophisticated, like one of those country club guys—always in "cocktail" attire.

You know I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to lick those boots. I craved some kind of connection to something beautiful, for a second, even just a second. I was done with the ugly, the grotesque. The carnage, I was over it

At that moment I never felt so alive. So close to death and even closer to life. Those boots may have saved my life. Is that crazy? The potential of something being beautiful was enough to keep me alive. It honestly was. Damn war.

i saw this on the street and got a good laugh.

party coasters or whatever...

let's just admit that the way we communicate with each other now is a little nuts.
where are the lines, the boundaries now?
what's appropriate, what's not?
what's stalking, what's just basic curiosity?
i realize this is the world we live in.
so, i'm embracing it.
and even trying to have some fun with it.

my morning...

so, everyday i wake up and have the same thing for breakfast.
fage fat free yogurt, cereal and coffee.
but for some reason my local grocery stores have been out of fage--what's up with that?
so, one morning i made eggs (ick) and this morning i tried chobani yogurt.
honestly, it was fine. but i sorta miss my yogurt.
it's funny how we get stuck on things...really stupid things...like a brand of yogurt.

i am new to this whole breakfast is great thing.
i just never really liked food first thing in the morning.
but about a year ago i went on weight watchers and when you're on weight watchers you wake up HUNGRY!
so that's how i got into breakfast.
and now that i no longer follow weight watchers i still love breakfast.

and by the way, this is six points!

yeah, i'd like that...

standing in line...listening to everyone rattle off their coffee orders.
sort of made me self reflect.
what can i say it's february.
i'm losing it.

what's that...the sun...

inside: happy birthday, gorgeous.


speaking of gorgeous....new york city was so gorgeous today.
you could leave your house without a coat and boots and be very happy.
it was a nice reprieve to what's been going on here and you could just tell from walking around there was a collective...ahh...
not sure how long this will last...but it was nice to have a taste of the spring hopefully to come.

looking forward to the four day weekend.

happy birthday card..

inside: here's to our evolution. happy birthday.

book club napkins...

the other day my friend gave me a title...wip.
work in progress.
yep, that says it all.
i am definitely working. it's the progress part i am not sure about.
i am currently working with an old friend to redesign all my cards and bring some of the other things i've designed
like these book club napkins and coffee cups into the mix so everything starts to feel like it's related.
but it just takes time.
i am looking forward to everything coming together.
hopefully that will be soon.

life goes on...

ok...i am just going to say it...I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY. if you're not in a relationship, it's a day of just being awkward.
if you're in a relationship, it's often a day of just being disappointed. the card was cheesy. the chocolate was crap. etc.
hallelujah it's feb 15 we can all just be.
i've been working on a lot of new cards. i am trying to do a bunch of birthday
ones---which is always a struggle for me but i am hoping i have turned a corner.
here's one i like that even made my 16-year-old chuckle.
inside the card reads: happy birthday to you and your perfection.

but it's educational...

this has to be the coolest valentine's chocolate i've ever seen. i ordered this online--of course! sam and zoe really flipped over the geek chocolate. i should've ordered extra for the girls to give to their math teachers...although maybe something in the shape of a huge A would be less subtle. zoe was the first to open her chocolate and seeing that it was 70% dark chocolate, her favorite, asked if sammy's was mostly her favorite--milk chocolate. great question and really good idea but i don't think you can custom order these.

chocolate chip cookies

i sort of depleted our supply of chocolate chip cookies yesterday so i decided to bake some more today---always a fun and
really relaxing thing for me to do. i usually use this recipe but decided to try this one instead. not sure how you can go wrong with either recipe...it's a chocolate chip cookie...there's really no such thing as a bad one.

one thing that we do that is a little different is we keep our cookies in the freezer. we just think they taste better.

the disappearing blog...

this afternoon, when i was about to upload these cards and write something really witty, i couldn't find my blog.
it just disappeared.
poof, gone, nowhere to be found.
beyond scary because it's not like there was a human being i could actually speak to at google or blogspot to get some help.
i spent hours on the internet trying to figure it out...i.e. going from "help" forum to "help" forum and nothing.
i took the dog for a walk...so i could cry in private...and when i came back jimmy and sammy were busy filling out forms on the internet to retrieve my password. the first couple of tries didn't work and just as i was about to throw my computer out the window i got an email from google saying...good news...you're on your way to retrieving your password.
and as the saying goes,,,,all's well that ends well.
sigh.

valentine's day is almost here...

i only wish we had double sinks...
and separate bathrooms
and his and her newpapers
and our own closets.
a girl can dream, right?

seven more days till single person's awareness day...

yep, it's almost here.
that day when we feel free to polish off a box of mediocre chocolates and demand good jewelry.
i think i like this holiday less than new year's eve.
there's so much pressure to be um...loving..

tgif...

have a great weekend.
enjoy the reprieve.

my neighborhood..

i don't even know what to say about this.
there's garbage piling up everywhere.
the sanitation dept has become the snow removal dept
so while we've got plowed streets you can't get down the sidewalk.
the other day i had to walk around a mattress that had blown off a pile of garbage and into the sidewalk.
new york is not looking so good these days.

um....i hope they're waterproof...

i have the most awesome boots.
they're super ugly.
but they are waterproof which is a big advantage now.
i took these photos this morning with my blackberry when i was out and about
and turned them into mini ads for my boots.

first snow...now the ice storm...

yesterday it was snow.
today freezing rain.
tomorrow tornadoes.
we're running out of weather here...