For a while there was very little action in my in-box that needed immediate attention until yesterday when the following letters appeared, which I present to you without alteration:
Dear …
more
Ramona Jan
|
1/14/25
|
In the 70s, as a teenager, I trained as a figure skater at South Mountain Arena in West Orange, NJ where the world’s most popular free skater of the time, Janet Lynn, also practiced. I watched …
more
Ramona Jan
|
1/7/25
|
There’s ‘abracadabra,’ a magic word of unknown origin that we’ve all heard in stage magic. And then there’s ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo,’ a magic word sung by the …
more
Ramona Jan
|
12/27/24
|
When I was almost two, I wanted to be a ballerina. And so, I took a shower cap, the kind that separates the hairline from the face and looks like a halo, slipped off my bulky diaper and stepped into …
more
Ramona Jan
|
12/17/24
|
Enticed by Christmas sales, I decided to purchase a stone bathmat as a present to myself after shopping for gifts that will go to everyone else. “Stone bathmats are popular because they're …
more
Ramona Jan
|
12/13/24
|
Before the first snow fell upon Callicoon, I encountered cowpokes, two of them, riding horses that were dressed from head to hoof in the finest equestrian accoutrements. The plaid woolen saddle …
more
Ramona Jan
|
11/26/24
|
1. What if we were all equally beautiful by society’s standards, would we find each other attractive?
Perhaps physical attractiveness would take a backseat to personality, …
more
Ramona Jan
|
11/26/24
|
First, some background information:
When we met, private investigator and polygraph examiner, Andrea Forrest Brock (nee Andrea Forrest), was already famous for researching and verifying …
more
Ramona Jan
|
11/19/24
|
While some things are no laughing matter, others are a barrel of laughs. Some even say that at the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities. I would have to …
more
Ramona Jan
|
11/12/24
|
It’s come to my attention that gems, diamonds perhaps, of precious conversation between myself and The Huz (my husband) might be worth sharing. The Huz is a singer. You may know him. His name …
more
Ramona Jan
|
10/29/24
|
It started when I spotted some skeins of mossy-colored yarn for sale at Wool Worth in Callicoon. “Hmmm, I think I’ll try knitting,” I said to myself. “Or I’ll just buy …
more
Ramona Jan
|
10/22/24
|
Act One: The Feather Boa
Scene: Art opening somewhere in Sullivan County
“Your column is too flamboyant,” said a woman in impossibly pink lipstick.
…
more
Ramona Jan
|
10/15/24
|
When Carrie Bradshaw (the fictitious character from the television show, Sex and the City), walks around New York City, people treat her like a celebrity.
They call her name, wave and …
more
Ramona Jan
|
10/8/24
|
You might have a heart-dropping moment, as did I, when I saw an alarming message in my Facebook/Meta (yeah, I’m confused, too) notifications for Callicoon Walking Tours.
Said notice …
more
Ramona Jan
|
10/1/24
|
My eyes swept across the cafeteria. All the fourth-grade kids blurred into one. Boys into girls and girls into boys. I had no friends, but I did have the power of a brand new Kelly green sweater with …
more
Ramona Jan
|
9/24/24
|
“Awww, look at you,” said the technician gazing at my scan at Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York, “You’re Lucky Lefty. You have lots of blood in your left …
more
Ramona Jan
|
9/10/24
|
We all lived on 85th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Myself and ‘the mayor’ for years in separate apartments on the ground floor of the same brownstone. ‘The …
more
Ramona Jan
|
8/27/24
|
Notes from the frontlines of cancer, and quotes from my friends in the battle with female cancers. All quotes are true. Names have been changed for privacy.
Sally: “I’m one …
more
Ramons Jan
|
8/20/24
|
Finally, after visiting with her since February, my oncologist turns to me and says, “I see you’re a writer.” Did I write ‘writer’ as my job description on …
more
Ramona Jan
|
8/6/24
|
Zen is a cat. No, a kitten. A five month-old naughty (but adorable) kitten, who doesn’t know the meaning of his namesake.
By definition, “finding Zen simply means slowing down and …
more
Ramona Jan
|
7/30/24
|
In response to recent events, I asked others what they were doing when they were twenty years-old.
Here’s my story:
At twenty, I had just been promoted from shipping clerk to a …
more
Ramona Jan
|
7/23/24
|
A friend called, “Everyone’s grousing about the UPS box that went missing from Main Street Callicoon!” he shouts before adding, “And I think you should find out what …
more
Ramona Jan
|
7/16/24
|
R: I understand you wrote to Elvis.
A: Yes
R: How old were you?
A: I’m gonna say I was nine or ten years-old.
R: And how did you find his address?
A: I …
more
Ramona Jan
|
7/9/24
|
I was going to do a piece on July 4th and how fireworks, thrilling as they may be, also disturb nesting birds, domestic pets and many young children, including myself when I was a wee one. And then I …
more
Ramona Jan
|
7/2/24
|
While balancing a large garden salad on my lap, an even larger word salad was tossed from my laptop in a single breath. And it went like this:
“I am a trans-masculine fem, …
more
Ramona Jan
|
6/25/24
|