Musings from my driveway, my home and my heart
Some people in Newport, Oregon are calling 9-1-1 when they run out of toilet paper and one acquaintance tells us his elderly father is urging him to hoard whiskey and cigarettes to use for barter in an emergency. But at my house we’ve resolved to keep calm and carry on during the coronavirus pandemic, panic... Continue Reading →
ANN ARBOR, Michigan – The buzz began in my Pilates class on Thursday night, when several female executives from the University of Michigan began wondering out loud how they were going to conduct business from home during the coronavirus pandemic. They were concerned about everything from domestic distractions and maintaining a professional atmosphere to gaining... Continue Reading →
My dad Chester Pyzik saw combat action in nearly every major World War II battle in the Pacific, from Operation Galvanic in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign to Iwo Jima, all the way to the Japanese surrender at Toyko Bay. But he never fired a single shot. Instead, as a Navy yeoman first assigned... Continue Reading →
I’ve just wrapped up another semester of college-essay coaching, with my students getting early-decision acceptance letters from great schools ranging from the University of Michigan to MIT. As I look back on this latest group of students, I find that parents often need more reassurance and hand holding than their children as we go through... Continue Reading →
When my friend Ted’s dad died in hospice last summer, Ted’s family asked if he had any final words to say at his father’s bedside. “Yes,” he said, turning to the corpse. “Dad, I’m the one who turned you in to the DMV.” Ted swears he heard a voice from beyond the grave muttering, “You... Continue Reading →
I’ve been moping around lately, mourning the end of the line for the iconic Volkswagen Beetle – even though I contributed to its demise (crossovers and not Beetles are parked in my garage today). Volkswagen is halting production of the Beetle in July 2019 and says it has no immediate plans to replace the storied... Continue Reading →
We’ve had a parade of test cars in our driveway this year, but the one that got the biggest reaction from friends, neighbors and strangers was the 2018 BMW 430i Coupe in Snapper Rocks Blue Metallic One neighbor, a former BMW owner, physician and Gen Xer, got her first glimpse of the eye-catching color, a... Continue Reading →
My 13-year-old sister Claudia became something of a celebrity stalker in 1968, when every kid in my family and on our block was obsessed with baseball and the Detroit Tigers, who were in a heated pennant race and would go on the win the World Series. One summer afternoon, she jumped on her purple Schwinn... Continue Reading →
I had two significant experiences with self-driving vehicles on June 26 in the Detroit area that brought me closer to trusting these robot rides. In the morning I attended the May Mobility launch of its fleet of six-passenger electric vehicles designed to carry property management company Bedrock’s employees to work in a short loop in... Continue Reading →
The Detroit bar I grew up in appears to be ground zero for creeping gentrification as the Motor City’s urban renewal edges beyond the downtown area. Once a landmark in a blue-collar neighborhood of factory workers, the bar – known as the Rose Café when my Polish grandparents owned it – now is called the... Continue Reading →
Anita's Way 