Last year I moved to Maui against all odds and in the face of almost everyone’s shock, including my own. (The exception was my mutually-adopted daughter, Donna, who said, “Of course you are!”) It was a radical move after living in California since I was twenty-four, arriving there as as ten-day-old mama to my firstborn. My children had grown up in Sacramento and so had I. Through the years, I'd enthusiastically considered this city not only my home, but the base of my spiritual roots. E...

The sun found Portland today long after it was due, showing up as if right on cue like a   celebrity late to her own gala sans apology. My granddaughter, Abby, a bona fide nature nymph, could not be contained. Her well-being had been compromised by the lack of spring and outdoors she flew, beckoning me to join her. Nothing to do but scoop but the eight-month old baby, grab a blanket, and head for the front lawn. We settled in semi-shade for the sake of Garen’s bald head, yet close enough to...

“Have you heard that Maridel gets her dental work done in Hawai’i?” From such queries rumors are spun. So before you hear that I’m jetting off to Sweden for a blood test or to Italy for a pap smear, here’s the truth: I am going to The Big Island to be crowned (literally) the Queen of Molars Gone Bad. (I have a layover on Maui. Should I get a pedi there?)

But here’s the irony of all this: my upcoming dental getaway isn’t a reflection of affluence. In fact, if I were wealthy enou...