Published inAbout Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — Maria Shimizu ChristensenMostly sunny to partly cloudy. Occasional thunderstorms. — I surprise people all the time. I don’t mean that I throw surprise parties or lurk behind doorways waiting to jump out creepily and unexpectedly, hoping to make people scream. Well, there was that one time… Anyway. Moving on. What I mean is that revealing some aspects of myself to…About Me3 min readAbout Me3 min read
Mar 2, 2024Member-onlyMy Best Photographs. Are They Good? Does It Matter?It’s like the modern version of slideshows — Art is subjective. One person’s masterpiece is another person’s “meh”. We all have different tastes and preferences. But we can also be objective. Most people like Van Gogh and there are great photographs that win prizes and are seared into our collective memories, taken by talented and patient professionals. …Photography4 min readPhotography4 min read
Published inAge of Empathy·Feb 5, 2024Member-onlyA Walk in the Woods with MushroomsA reflection on symbiotic relationships — Rain comes down in drips and drizzles, sheets and buckets, in the Pacific Northwest. It washes and shapes the landscape, and who we are as a people. We have dozens of ways to describe rain, from gentle misting to atmospheric rivers. And then there is renowned, and local, author Tom…Nonfiction6 min readNonfiction6 min read
Jan 21, 2024Member-onlyI Am a DragonThis is my year — In the late 60s and early 70s, in a small town at the foot of a forested hill rising from the rocky shores of Puget Sound, there lived a Chinese restaurant called the Four Seasons. My family went there every few months. My sister and I would order Shirley Temples…Culture3 min readCulture3 min read
Jan 13, 2024Member-onlyGet Me Off This PlanetLiterally. I want to live on the moon. — “We shouldn’t even think about going to space and colonizing the Moon or anywhere else until we solve the problems here on Earth.” Look, there are plenty of legitimate arguments for not spending the trillions of dollars — or more — that space colonization is going to someday take, but…Space3 min readSpace3 min read
Jan 12, 2024Member-onlyMy Advice to My Younger Self Is to Not Listen to My Older SelfSure, she’s a lot smarter, but I’ll never become her if I listen to her — My mistakes and failings are legion. Red flags have smacked me in the face and I still ignored them. I let things and other people get the better of me. In my adult lifetime I have been stupid, thoughtless, gullible, careless, and cruel. In my defense, my brain was shaped…Life Lessons2 min readLife Lessons2 min read
Jan 9, 2024Member-onlyStop Using the Word “Should”Especially about other people — “I should lose weight.” “She shouldn’t wear that.” “You should get over it.” We should stop overusing the word “should”. …Self Improvement3 min readSelf Improvement3 min read
Dec 31, 2023Member-onlyWhat If We Resolve to Make Other People HappyAnd not make the new year only about ourselves — I’m thinking a lot about myself these days. Surviving a stroke has me pondering my health, wellness, mortality, future, goals, and plans, and it’s all perfectly tailored for crafting new year resolutions. And while I will be focused on myself in the coming year, outwardly and inwardly, there’s no good…Giving4 min readGiving4 min read
Dec 25, 2023Member-onlyMerry Peaceful ChristmasTo everyone — It’s 5:30 am and I’m wide awake, enjoying a cup of coffee. The silence is broken by the occasional car zooming by, and I hope that the occupants are going somewhere filled with warmth and loved ones. It’s Christmas morning after all. My grown kids are fast asleep, snuggled in…Christmas2 min readChristmas2 min read
Dec 23, 2023Member-onlyThings to LoveEspecially when things are bad — “You love everything,” a boy once said scornfully when it became obvious I loved everything but him. While it’s true that I do love things enthusiastically, I don’t, in fact, love everything. I do not love liver, bigots, kombucha, beige walls, grey houses, high humidity, and hypocrites, for starters. But…Love3 min readLove3 min read