by Toni McNaron | Jan 30, 2020 | Toni's Blog, Uncategorized
We all have been thrilled if we’ve watched people let groups of doves fly into the sky to mark some special personal occasion like a big birthday or a special rite of passage. Sometimes these white flyers have been part of a celebration of a life that has...
by Toni McNaron | Jul 1, 2019 | Toni's Blog, Uncategorized
When I was spending time in England almost every year, I realized that many of their television ads were incredibly clever as opposed to most of ours that simply tried to sell you something you probably didn’t need or want. Lately, however, I have seen a few...
by Toni McNaron | May 18, 2018 | Toni's Blog, Uncategorized
For Binky perched atop a tiny ladder each holds fast to her balloon oblivious to the children, the party, the camera it’s my birthday–I’m five– just visible above the antique dining table my hair stuck into a wiry rat that itches and...
by Toni McNaron | May 14, 2018 | Toni's Blog
Every morning, unless it’s way below zero, I begin my day by walking about a mile and a half in my neighborhood. That means I meet the same people walking their dogs, the same children on the way to or standing in line to board the school bus. It also means in...
by Toni McNaron | Apr 11, 2018 | Toni's Blog
When I began teaching at the University of Minnesota, I was in my late 20s and my students were often in their early 20s or late teens. As one way of establishing myself as their “professor,” I set up strict deadlines for handing in papers. Of course a...
by Toni McNaron | Jul 29, 2017 | Toni's Blog
Anyone who’s read Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield remembers the oleaginous character Uriah Heep. Described by Dickens as unusually tall and wraithlike, Heep ingratiates himself into David’s world, wringing his hands in false supplication. ...
