The Nocturne podcast recently shared this story on Facebook with the status: What do President Obama and Jade Walker have in common?
Answer: We’re both night owls.
I’m also fairly sure it’s the first time anyone has ever written my name and the president’s in the same sentence. How cool is that?
The awesome Nocturne podcast recently interviewed… me!
We discussed my “vampire” life, the delicious quiet of the night and what it’s like to cover news while the rest of the country is asleep. Check it out:
Lately I’ve been buying my T-shirts on sale and in bulk. All the ones I own have stains on them.
This is not entirely unusual since I’m a large-breasted woman who clumsily consumes food. I also have terrible luck; ask me about the ketchup incident some time. Most of these stains disappear or fade over time.
The difficult-to-remove stains come from my youngest cat, Sera. As many of you know, our wee girl is dying of cancer. The tumor on her breast has grown so massive that it occasionally splits open and secretes a clear or bloody fluid. We’ve placed puppy-training pads throughout the house — on floors, pillows, couches — to make her comfortable and to keep the tumor from staining everything, but I rarely have one handy when she’s in need of some snuggling. So I carefully pick her up, place her on my pillowy rack and let her sleep for as long as she wants.
When Sera is ready to get down, she leaves both a stain and a little heartbreak in her wake.
“Today we are not so much communicating as miscommunicating. Or failing to communicate. Or choosing to communicate only with those who think as we do. Or communicating in a manner that is wholly detached from reality. Too often we look only for affirmation of our own ideas rather than opening ourselves to the ideas of others.” —Marty Baron
Like an unabashed yawn or unique laugh, there’s something contagious about random acts of kindness.
When you have the good fortune to experience one, confusion is bound to be your first reaction. Yet right around the corner from bewilderment is the sincere desire to respond in kind, either to the person who was generous to you or to others who may be in need of some sweetness.
I’ve been fairly stressed lately, a wicked combination of summer’s arrival, technical difficulties, family issues and work. To raise my spirits, one of my dearest friends sent me a box of chocolate from my favorite candy shoppe in Seattle. Once I put a dark chocolate truffle into my mouth, my eyes closed and I moaned with joy. For just that moment, the tension in my chest eased.
Of course I thanked my friend for her empathetic offering, but I also sent several gifts to others who weren’t expecting them. In truth, I can’t decode which option was more satisfying, the giving or the receiving. What do you think?
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