Essays by Karen Anderson

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I have a security blanket. I suspect that most of us do.

Freedom of speech, while guaranteed in the Constitution, was not encouraged in my home when I was growing up.

Nobody stopped to ask the man about his politics, his religion, his ethnic background. We all just helped.

One morning last summer, I walked out to the alley behind my house and noticed several diamonds lying in the dirt.

A rough recording session followed by the reassurance of geese..

Why is it, I wonder, that a long, slow climb is so much more difficult than a short, steep climb?

I hear the voice telling this story and am surprised to find it’s mine. How did my childhood become the olden days?

It was a high school open house and I didn’t know many people besides the graduate. Looking around the back yard, I saw a young man sitting alone and decided to introduce myself.

It’s likely that Neutrogena soap is still good for my skin, but I use it because of the smell, slightly medicinal and piney. More than anything else, that familiar scent evokes my college years.