by Susan Mattern | | Car, Family, Ferrari, Life
My husband noticed a Ferrari in front of us the other day. It turned into the McDonald’s drive-thru right in front of us. I laughed. “Fast food! Maybe that’s how he was able to buy the Ferrari.” It was actually my husband who noticed that the...
by Susan Mattern | | Life
Rain in California is very different than rain in other parts of the country. I know that from years of experience. When I was growing up in St. Louis, it was either raining or it wasn’t. Let me explain. The weatherman- yes, it was always a man- might...
by Susan Mattern | | Life
When I was about five years old, I took a beautiful blue crystal rosary from a classmate and told my mom I had “just found it.” I got in big trouble for taking it – and for lying about it. I learned then that lying is bad. When I met my husband, years...
by Susan Mattern | | 70th Birthday, Aging, Birthdays, Finding Purpose in Life, Life, Old-Life Crisis, Turning Seventy
I’m very ambivalent about turning seventy this month. On the one hand, I’m glad I’m still around for my 70th birthday. On the other hand, seventy is really OLD! I managed to pretend I was still middle-aged for a long time. I ignored my first AARP...
by Susan Mattern | | Father, German, German-American, Immigrant, Life, Statue of Liberty, World War II, WWII, Your Huddled Masses Yearning To Breathe Free
My dad wasn’t an emotional person. He’d talk about how he came to the United States from Germany. He’d tell us about winning a tennis championship years later – the Missouri State championship – the week I was born. My mother wasn’t too...
by Susan Mattern | | Friendship, Human Connection, Istanbul, Life, Travel
Rick Steves, the travel expert, wrote an editorial in the LA Times last year. His message was: “Afraid of terrorism? Get on a plane!” We are so bombarded by reports of terrorism that we forget that most people are just like us –– not just in the...
