Homo sovieticus: panel

She said that in East Germany they got Russian-accented calls from strangers saying they heard the wall was going to fall down. This was bef...

Greetings from Sofia--a jumble

(synagogue--I didn't take the pic) Cancer Bitch finds herself in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is dingy but smells good, like lilacs. Garbage i...

Madison

I read in Madison with Kathleen Rooney, under the sign of death and next to a workbook on phobia and anxiety. I don't like this picture ...

Rowing

I went boating tonight. It wasn't exactly like this. The picture on the left makes me think of You've come a long way, baby , which ...

Balloon in the Womb

Yesterday the gynecologist took the fibroid from the mouth of my womb. She showed a picture of it to L and my mother, but I didn't see i...

I'm 27

New City Chicago's annual Lit 50 list of people "who really book" in Chicago: 27 S.L. Wisenberg Wisenberg serves as the co-dir...

Spots and Star

My doctor looked at the spots on my leg and was dismissive: An insect bite, she said. So I won't worry. I put bleach on the spots yester...

Diagnose the Bitch!

Cancer Bitch looked down while showering today and saw two red bumps on her left leg, about six inches above her ankle. One is the size of a...

Taking, Losing, Making

There are two empty houses on our block and one of them has been abandoned for 39 years, according to neighborhood lore. We want to dig out ...