Musings by Tulis

It is the end of the line. I will be leaving my day job on June 15th this year. As much as the thrill of letting go of all of that appeals to me – I am sitting in a big pile of panic. I had not expected this. Continue reading End Of The Line ~ April 17, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

What if Donald Trump threw a party and no one came? Continue reading Decline The Invitation ~ April 10, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

My Father was born on April Fools Day. Our relationship was rocky. Dad wanted things his way because he was the father. I know this because he told me. I wanted things my way because I was the daughter. He knew that because I told him. We drew our lines in the sand, and we waited for the other to blink. For me it was very simple. My father was usually wrong, and I was right. Continue reading My Fa...

She started singing in 1931 and has never stopped in spite of being sidelined more than once. Marilyn Maye has lived through more crap than most of us will ever see. Talk about opportunities for having the blues. And yet she chooses the crow’s nest as her permanent home. Continue reading Marilyn Maye Dispatches My Case Of The “What-Does-It-Matter-Blues” at Musings by Tulis.

She started singing in 1931 and has never stopped in spite of being sidelined more than once. Marilyn Maye has lived through more crap than most of us will ever see. Talk about opportunities for having the blues. And yet she chooses the crow’s nest as her permanent home. Continue reading Marilyn Maye Dispatches My Case Of The “What-Does-It-Matter-Blues” ~ March 27, 2023 at Musings by T...

Is it possible that the women are not given equal opportunity to be seen on national television because they are, well, just women athletes? Good Gravy – could that be? Could something as blatant as public media snubbing of hundreds of college athletes be allowed to happen? And no one is commenting on it? Not even Scott Simon? Continue reading March Madness – And The Women are WHERE Exactly?  at M...

Do you have a budget? I have never had a budget. I don't know from budgets. I don’t want a budget. But I find myself being cornered into making one – whip and chair in hand. We call this - Wake-Up Call: The Advanced Course. I will be leaving my day job within a few months. I have seen the wagons circling for quite a while, but it is a different ball of wax when everyone parks it and hops down for...

Let’s face it – we ALL know we are there when things go wrong. Did you ever notice that you are always there when things go right? Every good thing? It’s because you stuck your neck out. Grand gestures. Teeny tiny ways. Things you did that you don’t even notice. Well, notice! Give yourself some credit, pal. Continue reading Go Ahead. Stick Your Neck Out. at Musings by Tulis.

The Everything Drawer - You know you have one. Everybody has one. Right NEXT to the silverware drawer OR the gadget drawer where you keep the wine opener and the candle stubs and the used corks. Call it what you want – it is still the Everything Drawer. Continue reading The Secret of The Everything Drawer at Musings by Tulis.

Men are always in their prime. For men, Prime is not an adjective, it is a location, and they are always in it: young, old, dead. But a woman only has a little bit of time to be in her prime. Before she stops being a juicy specimen waiting to be plucked. Before she becomes something to be discarded. Continue reading Prime? Say WHAT? – February 20, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

Men are always in their prime. For men, Prime is not an adjective, it is a location, and they are always in it: young, old, dead. But a woman only has a little bit of time to be in her prime. Before she stops being a juicy specimen waiting to be plucked. Before she becomes something to be discarded. Continue reading Prime? Say WHAT? at Musings by Tulis.

Since making a few donations I have been inundated with requests for more money. It is as if the sluice gates of the gift giving world were thrown open and aimed at me.... This is just plain cheesy. What if a bartender did that? "Thanks for the tip and I’m right here in case you want to up it." I don't think so. Continue reading Take Me Off Your Mailing List at Musings by Tulis.

Since making a few donations I have been inundated with requests for more money. It is as if the sluice gates of the gift giving world were thrown open and aimed at me.... This is just plain cheesy. What if a bartender did that? "Thanks for the tip and I’m right here in case you want to up it." I don't think so. Continue reading Take Me Off Your Mailing List – February 13, 2023 at Musings by...

...this epidemic of good deeds and dispositions was out of my control. I put down my book and watched as the Samaritans began to multiply out on the street. A pizza guy stopped to hold a door open. A woman stood still while her dog said hello to a puppy. A man on his phone paused his call and executed a tiny soccer move to stop something rolling down the street being chased by a panicked teenager....

...this epidemic of good deeds and dispositions was out of my control. I put down my book and watched as the Samaritans began to multiply out on the street. A pizza guy stopped to hold a door open. A woman stood still while her dog said hello to a puppy. A man on his phone paused his call and executed a tiny soccer move to stop something rolling down the street being chased by a panicked teenager....

The other day I signed up for a Lifetime Membership for a Meditation App. It seemed like a no-brainer, until I heard myself think, “Wait a minute – how long would I have to live to make this lifetime membership worthwhile?” A quick calculation told me I would have to live for three more years. That sounded doable. But what in the Sam Hill am I doing thinking thoughts like THAT? Continue reading Li...

Actors know that a world with no stories would go wobbling off into the Universe and burn to a crisp or freeze over until it was colder than the heart of a certain Supreme Court Justice. Continue reading Actors Are Magicians – January 23, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

In addition to being King’s birthday, this year January 15th marked the closing date for SEVEN Broadway shows. Four of those shows feature black casts: “Death of a Salesman,” “A Strange Loop,” “Topdog/Underdog,” and “Ohio State Murders.” A fifth, “The Piano Lesson,” will close in two weeks. Continue reading Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr. – January 16, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

When you are deep into experiencing your own stupid - stupid is not funny. Like the 15 minutes I spent the other day looking for my keys. I could feel the spirits hanging around laughing as my anxiety started to spike. Seriously. They thought it was a laugh riot. Continue reading How Stupid AM I? – January 9, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

I like when the dark comes on and says, “Slow down. You just put in a full day and worked your butt off, so put up your feet and have a cocktail or three. Press the Pause Button for God’s sake. Light a candle and contemplate another day’s adventure. Hush.” Continue reading I Like The Dark – January 2, 2023 at Musings by Tulis.

My Great Grandfather's letter to a neighbor the day after my grandmother was born. 1896. "Last night about 10:45 P.M. or it may have been 10:46, I am not quite certain, being a little agitated at the time, a young lady, quite a stranger to all of us, - no one seemed ever to have seen her before - came to pay us a visit; which from the perfectly contented way she has taken to her novel surroundings...

If you are raised Catholic, at some point you have to choose. Jesus or Santa. At a certain age you are expected to put away childish things and throw Santa under the bus. Continue reading Santa vs. Jesus – December 19, 2022 at Musings by Tulis.

I went to the MET yesterday for the first time in three years. I was in search of mummies. My niece’s sons are studying them and want to see actual specimens. I overheard a grandmother strolling with her granddaughter mention mummies. “Are there any here?” I said. She snapped at me. “Of COURSE there are! Follow me, we are headed in that direction. I’ll get you to the American wing and you can take...

The "4 minute" message - My life is like a quiz show. Is it an age thing? After all, my brain is stuffed. I have so many names, places, things, summer vacations, Christmas Carols, works of art, recipes, cousins, family dinners, dinner parties, grammar school teachers, high school concerts and cats’ names in here that it is difficult to sort through them all on a moment’s notice. More and more I de...

Watching i"The Wizard of Oz" this year, I concluded that OZ belongs to Toto not Dorothy – like “Cinderella” belongs to Gus-Gus. But that’s a story for another time. Continue reading TOTO Too – November 28, 2022 at Musings by Tulis.