Author Archives: sheilawill

Roaring Toward 80, Part 3: What to do about aging?

Posted on June 10, 2026 by sheilawill

I don’t know what I’ll do. I have been asked what my plan is. Do I have a plan, as I turn 80? Who will I live with in my old(er) age? Where will I go if I get really … Continue reading →

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Roaring Toward 80! Part 2: Men

Posted on June 3, 2026 by sheilawill

On our recent trek across the English Cotswolds, with Claire, my dear friend of 40+ years, we shared how so much fresh air and walking cleared our minds. Adventure, Men, and aging know-how popped up as essential concerns for my … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Baby Boomers, Family Matters, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Nature Girl, Old friends, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roaring Toward 80!

Posted on May 21, 2026 by sheilawill

I’ll be 80 on June 11. I can’t stop it. But I can meet this enormous milestone head-on. One step — no, 175,000 steps — launched the penultimate excursion of this important year. With my old friend, Claire, I took … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Baby Boomers, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Nature Girl, Old friends, The Rest of the World, travel | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“How did they let it happen?” asks the history books

Posted on January 22, 2026 by sheilawill

Now we know. Here’s my rant. It’s no different than the outrage billowing out of millions of other human mouths. It feels necessary today. How do we allow an adorable five-year-old Latino boy, https://www.startribune.com/preschooler-and-three-other-students-detained-by-ice-school-district-leader-says/601568045 whose father was here legally, to … Continue reading →

Posted in America WTF?, Baby Boomers, Fight wimpiness, For Love of History, Journalism/Writing, Managing Minneapolis, politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fly Like An Eagle

Posted on October 28, 2025 by sheilawill

Driving alongside the Mighty Mississippi to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota, was worth the trip. Time to spend with my darling nearly nine-year-old grandson on a late Autumn day, with its Midwestern array of gold, red, and orange … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Matters, Managing Minneapolis, Nature Girl, politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

No One is Talking About This

Posted on September 28, 2025 by sheilawill

I want to tell you about two very different writers. Both are worth reading. Their writing resonates with me for very different reasons. Patricia Lockwood is a quirky, “let ‘er fly” poet, novelist, and essayist. She disdains genres. Her novels … Continue reading →

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I didn’t know it yet…

Posted on August 19, 2025 by sheilawill

As I returned from this morning’s three-mile walk around Lake Harriet, I passed Wild Rumpus Children’s Bookstore. As I often do. A mom and dad and a skinny young boy made their way from their small car (with a Quebec … Continue reading →

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To The Editor

Posted on August 2, 2025 by sheilawill

I’m proud that the Minnesota Star Tribune printed my letter to the editor this week. I’m two for two getting my writing into one of the country’s top newspapers. The first was “Misogyny Amplified,” a column that appeared following the … Continue reading →

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A Most Remarkable Man

Posted on July 13, 2025 by sheilawill

I’m proud to share my tribute to Ashley Bryan, which was just published in the Horn Book Magazine. It would have been Ashely’s 102 birthday on Sunday, July 13.  We need more humans like Ashley in this tumultuous world! https://www.hbook.com/story/a-most-remarkable-maine-man-a-tribute-to-ashley-bryan

Posted in children's books, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Old friends, Read, Read, Read | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unscathed and Unbit

Posted on June 25, 2025 by sheilawill

Ship Harbor is my favorite one-mile stroll along the Atlantic. No climbing any of the thirty peaks on Mt. Desert Island. From that rocky coast of Maine, view the Duck Islands in the distance, a lobster boat crossing by. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Baby Boomers, children's books, Family Matters, For Love of History, Mount Desert Island/Maine, Old friends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment