Alexis Rankin Popik's Blog, page 10

Autumn Leaves and Leaving

In the autumn of 1996, Norm Benjamin appeared at my kitchen door and told me he had come to say “goodbye.” Our family had moved to Connecticut from California six months earlier and Norm was one of my few friends. … Continue reading →

POETRY & THE PANDEMIC

Poetry can be very comforting in troubling times—and the COVID 19  Pandemic is surely troubling.  I have noticed in the magazines on my bedside that I am not alone in turning to poetry as a way to get by. There … Continue reading →

SMALL PLEASURES

Noticing small pleasures turns out to be one of the (few) pluses of the pandemic.  Here in Northern California, if we wake up to a blue sky, it’s going to be a good day.  If the avocados at the corner … Continue reading →

GOOD GRIEF

Evidence of grief and loss is all around right now:  on the news, in the streets, even in the air millions of us in the Western U.S. are breathing.  In my Northern California yard, I wipe ashes off the top … Continue reading →

BAD SMELL

From the Archive: “Does this smell bad?” “No, Mom.” “What about this?” “No, Mom.” “Or this?” “Mom, I feel like I’m living with Helen Keller.” Eight years ago I lost my sense of smell. I had had a very bad … Continue reading →

POEM FOR OUR TIME

This lovely poem, passed on to me by my Spanish teacher, is from the Purepecha people of Michoaca’n, Mexico. It was written in the 1500s but strikes me as relevant today, in this unexpected situation in which we find ourselves, … Continue reading →

FINDING JOY

Recently, Janet Compiano Alonso–a friend since 4th grade–sent me the following note about an event that brought joy in her life. And since she has known me since we were nine years old, she calls me Karen–though I am not … Continue reading →

MANSPLAINING

I was driving with a close friend the other day and the subject of protective gloves came up.  I was thinking out loud about when to don gloves to protect my new granddaughter when my friend began to fill me … Continue reading →

FINDING HAPPINESS

I got a catch-up note from an old friend yesterday that got me thinking about happiness. He wrote, “That said, we are great, positive, and enjoying most days with activities we would not have done without Shelter in Place.”  Because … Continue reading →

MOTIVATION LOSS SYNDROME

I just made up the title, “Motivation Loss Syndrome,” and then found that there is a named condition very similar to it:  Abulia.  While this sounds very much like a plant I wanted to buy yesterday at the East Bay … Continue reading →