Abby Foster, Writer

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child.” Jennifer Aniston   I couldn’t agree more. I am not an actress. I am not a model. I am not a celebrity of any kind. I am a single woman . I have   no children .    Like  Aniston, I too want to participate in the larger conversation on how society views women. I particularly want to focus on the societal view of single women.  And like Aniston,  I too am fed up. F ed up with the  prevalent  societal  belief  that a woman is incomplete without a mate.  F ed up with friends, fami ly, co-workers, casual  a cquainta nces   insistent on  “fixing” my single status.  This sends the message that  a woman should not be single.  That it is unnatural.  Fo r a variety of reasons, I am a woman in my forties who has never married  and is childfree .    My single, non-mom status is  shocking, contrary,...

With my buttered popcorn and a Diet Coke I settled into the cushioned theater seat, snuggling into my favorite cotton sweater and eagerly awaited the opening of the Ghostbusters reboot. Summer movies are always filled with promise. Action packed or comedy, their promos promise an exciting diversion from the summer heat. Summer reboots often bring an extra special anticipation. Like a summer festival or family reunion. There is the promise of seeing old friends or distant, sometimes eccentric relatives. And like any family reunion, it sounds like a good idea, but in reality it can go either way. I took in the Ghostbusters reboot with high expectations. After seeing the original no less than fifty times (I spent 1988 babysitting a four year old) I was anxious to see how the new heroines would fair against those slimy spirits. In the original, it was Bill Murray’s dry deliveries that got me through repeated viewings. If I had to do it over again with the reboot, it would likely by Ka...

Last week I sat down to write my blo g  which was going to be about my latest dilemma:  Hulu or Netflix – which one stays and which one goes?  But then, all hell broke loose. Two more black men gunned down by police officers. Police officers overseeing a peaceful demonstration in Dallas gunned down by a sniper.  My original blog topic was now rendered  beyond trivial.    What was going on in this country  was big.  Important.    Like many Americans I’m tired of the sadness. Tired of the  anger .  Tired of the same debates over and over again with no change.    Inevitably, like driving past a car accident, I can’t help but glance at the posts and comments on social media.  I know I shouldn't. I know it will haunt me for the rest of the day, but I can't help myself. The c omments  demonstrate just how much we view, perceive and understand the events in our society based on our...

Author's Note: (This was written in the early morning hours the day after Super Tuesday primaries.) I couldn’t sleep. Trump victories on Super Tuesday kept me awake worrying about the future of our country. Did that really just happen? People actually think someone who has called himself "The Donald" will make a good leader of the free world? It left many with many questions. First, how will he maintain diplomatic affairs? Part of being a super power is maintaining positive relationships with other countries. He seems to alienate (and offend) everyone. He insults anyone who disagrees with him, or challenges him. This is not diplomacy. This is bullying. Second, are we (Americans) so swayed by sound bites and hyperbole that we use our one voice to vote for someone who has not explained how he will address any of our problems? Again, I’m not talking about sound bites “we will make America great again” “build a wall”, I’m talking about HOW. How will these things be done...