Category: Uncategorized

In a timely change, publications start capitalizing Black

It’s unlikely that many readers noticed, or cared, when news outlets started using % instead of percent after a numeral — a change prescribed by the Associate Press Stylebook last year. Many newspaper readers have probably noticed, and applaud, a change made in the last month, however. AP, along with many news organizations, now recommends... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
June 29, 2020 at 4:10 pm
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Making masks more comfortable

Let’s stipulate that it’s important and respectful to continue wearing masks as long as the coronavirus is out there. I wear a mask because I should, not to align with a political position. Okay, that’s established. Now I can complain about masks. It’s harder to breathe wearing a mask. It’s harder to hear, and harder... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
June 22, 2020 at 9:32 am
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Self-examination of a white liberal

The message that this white liberal heard the loudest the last few weeks is that “Do no harm” is not enough. It’s not enough to try to treat everyone decently. Antiracism requires more than passivity. African Americans are understandably tired of whites asking them for suggestions of what to do. Yet it can be hard... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
June 15, 2020 at 10:31 am
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Chatting with a locked-down parent

Many of us likely make lists before important conversations. As a journalist, I would jot down points before interviewing someone to make sure everything important would be covered. But a list to talk to your mother? My mother has been in coronavirus lockdown in an assisted living residence for 11 weeks. No visitors, no leaving... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
June 8, 2020 at 10:37 am
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Rudeness or cultural difference?

As George Floyd’s murder has laid bare America’s persistent racism, I’ve been grappling with an incident closer to home. I’m second-guessing complaining to an African American postal clerk about what I considered rude customer service. Seeking to learn from the experience, I found a relevant article in The Guardian in which writer Kimberly Foster condemned “needlessly hassling... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
June 1, 2020 at 10:54 am
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Heartbreak on top of isolation: losing a pet during coronavirus

Heartbreak on top of isolation: losing a pet during coronavirus
“So glad to have Lizzy now,” I wrote in my journal in early April as the second week of Illinois’s stay-at-home order was ending. Human company and touch were off limits for the indefinite future, but I had my sweet kitty. Now Lizzy is gone, and I’m writing through tears. In my last post I... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 25, 2020 at 2:10 pm
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How long can I live like this? I'm not talking about the pandemic.

This is really looking for a silver lining: If there was ever a good time for isolation, it’s now for me because it coincides with a worsening of my cat’s inflammatory bowel disease. For both health and aesthetic reasons, it’s best to not have visitors. Lizzy has chronic diarrhea. She also doesn’t always use the... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 16, 2020 at 8:41 am
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We’re not all in this equally

Not surprising for educated, informed people, my friends have opinions about reopening the economy. Mostly they, as do I, think that it’s too soon to ease up. But we do need to acknowledge that we’re privileged. Seniors are the greatest beneficiaries of the lockdown, since coronavirus is deadlier for us than for younger age groups.... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 11, 2020 at 10:13 am
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This and that as we soldier on

I want to believe that the people who are clamoring for a reopening are not all antigovernment right-wingers, despite the protest signs. Some must be among the one in six American workers who have filed for unemployment during the pandemic. The majority of people who have lost their jobs and still told KFF pollsters that... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 4, 2020 at 3:03 pm
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When you need upbeat fiction

When my book group chose its next novel, someone suggested Albert Camus’s The Plague for its current relevance. The rest of us wanted something less depressing in the present circumstances, so we’re reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Wanting something less depressing is nothing new for me. Back in the 1990s, I... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
April 20, 2020 at 10:30 am
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