Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Hillary Clinton had gone there and promised to help, which gave everyone hope, but then all she did was give money to the corrupt government.

True?

“Trauma” can be loosely described as any event a person experiences which he perceives as being a threat to his life.

Seattle is the only city where you step in shit and you pray, Please God, let this be dog shit.

French field marshal during the siege of Sebastopol, “J’y suis, j’y reste”—“I am here, and here I shall remain.”

TRULY HE TAUGHT US TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER… HIS LAW IS LOVE AND HIS GOSPEL IS PEACE.

I raised my hands, to see how it felt. I let my head drop back and my eyes close. THEN EVER, EVER PRAISE WE. I was baby Jesus. Mom and Dad were Mary and Joseph. The straw was my hospital bed. I was surrounded by the surgeons and residents and nurses who helped me stay alive when I was born blue and if it weren’t for them I would be dead now. All those people I didn’t even know, I couldn’t pick them out of a lineup if I had to, but they had worked their whole lives to get the knowledge that ended up saving my life. It was because of them that I was in this magnificent wave of people and music.

Wonderful connection and imagery

Maybe that’s what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place.

I felt so full of love for everything. But at the same time, I felt so hung out to dry there, like nobody could ever understand. I felt so alone in this world, and so loved at the same time.

“When your eyes are softly focused on the horizon for sustained periods, your brain releases endorphins. It’s the same as a runner’s high. These days, we all spend our lives staring at screens twelve inches in front of us. It’s a nice change.”