Debby Does…

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  • Seeking: my perfect breakfast spot

    For decades, I, and eventually Jim and I, and most people I knew, frequented a place called The Village Kitchen for breakfast in Marmora, New Jersey. An unassuming spot serving quality breakfast and lunch since the 1970’s, it also holds the current distinction of being partially owned by a lovely…

  • Things my mother said that got me thinking

    As a kid with a mom who was an English teacher, grammar goddess, and a logophile, how I learned to speak and express myself was a process. First, you must know, I grew up in Southern New Jersey which has a very specific accent, not dissimilar to the accent of…

  • An Ode to New Jersey

    In just a few hours, I’ll be leaving New Jersey for good, minus a couple trips annually to catch up with my friends at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  Though Jersey is the butt of an awful lot of jokes and the victim of many misconceptions, she’s been good to…

  • Light the candles!

    It’s my birthday. The big 54! I got my AARP card in the mail, so I see where this is going. I don’t have super strong feelings about how I do birthdays at this point. I mean, in my 30-40’s I felt the need to make it a thing, but…

  • Short and sweet, for a change of pace!

    I’ve been meandering around and through topics here for the last couple of months. I sort of think the limbo of getting ready to move has spilled over into my writing. I guess I’m waiting to move to find my focus and my purpose. So, today, gentle reader, I ask…

  • The day after the day, a week before the day

    Yesterday, apparently, was Mother’s Day. A day that, originally, was about more than brunch and flowers. It’s a day that always gives me pause, for a few reasons, which I shall not get into. What I can tell you is that my late mom’s philosophy about Mother’s Day was simple:…

  • The art of silence

    When I was a toddler, I thought that the sign for “Shhh” involved sticking my index finger up my nose and saying, “SSSSSSS,” an anecdote my mom loved to tell. I have never been known for my silence. People always exclaimed about my chattiness to my mom. Sometimes even she…

  • Don’t. Kill. Puppies.

    I wrote this on social media yesterday, but thought I’d share it here for posterity and different views. Over the weekend, like many of you, I became aware of a passage in a national politician’s book referencing the killing of her 14 month old puppy, Cricket. A dog, she said,…

  • A life of lessons…

    Yesterday, on my personal page, I wrote about what may be one of my last lessons with my voice teacher of 39 years. Because we’re moving, I’ll only be back in the Dirty Jerzee twice a year for cancer check ups, so it limits the opportunity. Still, the lessons live…

  • Skip ‘N Go Naked

    32 years ago today, for no reason, other than the power of a boozy drink, I kissed Jim Dalfonso, a guy I didn’t think I liked. We have barely left each other’s sides since that night at Bear’s Place in Bloomington, Indiana. This August, we’ll mark 30 years of marriage,…