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Turning Up the Dials on Appreciation & Gratitude

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Credit: Alison Saeng for Unsplash For an upcoming interview, I was reviewing My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery. It made me remember not being able to walk, talk, or swallow. Lying there in a hospital bed with no idea when I would be better, and better how ? When my husband comes home from the office, we usually pour two glasses of wine and head to the living room to chat for a bit and catch up on our day. As I sat there listening to him talk tonight, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Hearing his deep voice, and knowing his body would be lying next to me in bed in a few hours. Sitting in the beautiful living room, which we just had painted, the sliding door to the back garden open, a zephyr of early spring was in the air. The robin in the birdbath gently flapped his wings in the water.  I am THANKFULL for so many things: my marriage, my children, my grandchildren, and pockets of best friends. Because of my stroke, I am fully aware of my body, and that I was able to ...
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Theatre Etiquette: Get with the Program!

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                                         The Cultural Director (my husband) and I recently attended "Giant" with John Lithgow at the Music Box Theatre. The play dramatizes a controversial book review Roald Dahl wrote, deeming it antisemitic. He confronts moral and professional dilemmas as the play comes to ... WHAT  IS THAT LOUD SOUND? Is it the CELL PHONE of the guy sitting next to me? (And, I'm not even mentioning that it was in John Lithgow's voice, which made me think that this horrendously mannered person was actually RECORDING the performance??) The jolting sound went off  at the pivotal moment Dahl is speaking on the phone, giving an interview, and the script  is  verbatim to his real conversation.  Is this idiot next to me trying to ruin it for the entire row in his vicinity?  Well, he did.   When you are asked  to shut off all electron...
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Sending Royal 100th Birthday wishes to Queen Elizabether II

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As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would have celebrated her 100th birthday last week, I remembered a letter I received from her in 1993. I wrote to The Queen to let her know how much I enjoyed the television documentary "Elizabeth R." I didn't write this part, but at one point, it was particularly touching. In a grand room, Queen Elizabeth sat alone, eating dinner on a TV tray. Just like the rest of us. (Or some of us.) It reminded me of a retort my father gave me about President Kennedy. I must have been going on and on about how I idolized him. (We happened to be learning about idols in Sunday school.) To bring it down and humanize it, Daddy said, "Remember, Bonni: even President Kennedy makes a poop every day." (The profundity of that message silenced this curious six-year-old.) Among the many personalized letters I have are those from Jimmy Stewart, Robert Goulet, Isaac Asimov, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana, Helen Hayes, and more. There is also one from J...
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Morning Routine Out the Window: Proud to be Clueless

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Here was my morning news round-up before even putting my feet on the floor. From bedside perch, I'd call out, "Hey, Google, play 'NPR News Now." (Could call out to Alexa, but she doesn't live here.) Five-minute episodes updated hourly that cover top headlines. When that was finished, I went to "CNN 5 Things to Know," then "AP Radio News Update" and, finally,   New York Times "The Daily." I wanted to be sure I was au courant with what was happening in the world. Now? I tune into "NPR News Now" and that's it .  The news is all so disturbing. Every one of these words triggers anxiety: Gaza, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Trump and his lovely wife Melania, the Epstein files, and these are just top o'the news stories.  I feel crazzzzzed even telling you this, but I've found a better way to start my day. Not listening to all the news first thing. (Breathe deep, Bonni.)
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* * * * * Reviews for "My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery"

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Nothing is more rewarding than receiving reviews like these for  My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery . Many thanks to these readers for their kind words on Amazon and Goodreads.            "Bonni’s books are instantly engaging, no matter the topic. Her writing is wonderfully lyrical, even when describing t he indignity of hospital gowns. This book is a love story and a deeply touching tale of a woman heroically and humorously  navigating a sudden and seemingly insurmountable challenge in her life. Please gift this to yourself."  ~ WG          " A harrowing ride! 'I had a stroke while driving on 1-95' is the grabber. But the gripping brilliance of the book is how Bonni takes us with her into the dark trenches of recovery. Learning the most basic acts of walking and talking all over again is a grueling, embarrassing, humbling and ultimately enlightening journey--with laughs along the way. If you need ...
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Happy Easter!! (and other words from a badass Stroke Survivor)

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Happy Easter! The daffodils and forsythia are in full bloom, and the magnificent fragrance of magnolia trees heralds spring's arrival. I am reminded, too, of the fateful day nine years ago when I had my stroke on Easter Sunday morning on Interstate 95.  My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery   opens with the dining room table set in a seasonal theme of pastels with a porcelain bunny "... sitting on a patch of fake grass amidst chocolate eggs and jellybeans. The night before I baked a lemon-blueberry cake ... A ham was diagonally scored, each diamond studded with a clove, and put under a crown of aluminum foil in the refrigerator. All we needed to do was put it in the oven when I returned." Little did I know that I wouldn't return for months. I replay practically every minute of going to pick up my mother and all that ensued as I took a diverted route to Stroke Land.  But here I am! A badass, warrior STROKE SURVIVOR who savors every moment of being alive. Am...
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Ode to Andrew from a "Death of a Salesman" Groupie

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After my stroke, Andrew officially created the position of "Cultural Director." My coming to the razor-thin edge of almost dying affected all of us.  In this new post, he wanted to take advantage of living closer to the city. No longer tucked away in the country, where the city was a good hour and a half by car, now, on a good night, we are only 36 minutes from midtown. (Andrew times it.) We regularly shoot into Manhattan to hear concerts at Carnegie Hall and Geffen Hall, attend the opera at The Metropolitan, see Broadway shows, and visit museums. In our town, we also have a Music Hall from the 1860s and Jazz Forum. I like to boast that this venue is on  Downbeat Magazine 's   list of the "100 Best Jazz Clubs in the World."  For upcoming concerts, I'll get a text: "Listen to Sibelius violin concerto and Dvorak 7. Later in the month we hear Beethoven quartet 15. His late quartets are extraordinary." Next text: "Also Silbelius symp 1 and Grieg p...
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