I believe I’ve slept on this topic more than any other that I can recall. “Quitting” or “to quit” conjures up conflicting reactions. To abruptly quit one’s job, or simply give up prematurely on a worthy endeavor, are negatives. To quit a harmful habit, on the other hand, or an abusive, dangerous relationship – those […]

Last week I sent Math a text message that said, “I’m breaking up with you.” Math told a mutual friend that our breakup “can’t last forever” and that I’ll soon learn I “can’t live without Math.” Math has quite an ego. It’s tough to be with someone who is so certain about everything all the […]

Are you familiar with the phrase, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins”? I don’t think it is true. There are times, places and situations in which “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu,” is appropriate. I’m a quitter. Most of the time, I know when to hold ’em, but I certainly know when […]

Quitting often has a negative connotation, when it refers to giving up prematurely, being unable to achieve a goal or being a bad sport because things didn’t go the way a person wanted. Certainly these things do happen, not always with good consequences. But I believe quitting can be a positive option in our lives. […]

I wanted to be brave. She was sweeping when I walked in. It was just her and me in the salon. She greeted me and came closer to ask how I was. I had been practicing. What to say. I had never said it to her before. Two of my sisters had done it. And […]

2021, which has become known as “The Year of The Big Quit,” takes me back to another year in which I quit not once, but four times. In the fall of 1971, I quit my junior year of college. I had run out of money and had taken out large loans and a ton of […]

In the summer of 1967, when I was nearly 17, I worked at a bingo lounge called Skill-Right on Revere Beach Boulevard. I would walk up and down the long U-shaped aisles, with customers on either side. They’d hail me if they wanted to buy more cards, or if they’d won. The customers were exactly […]