When my cat died, I called my mother expecting sympathy since she loves animals. However, since it wasn’t her cat, she breezed right over his death and went right on to talking about herself.

Once again, I’d taken a gamble on a narcissist’s basic humanity and lost. I’ve learned to…

Once I asked my mother what sex was. She said a man was a man, a woman was a woman, and those words were sex. She wasn't lying, but that wasn't what I meant, and she knew it. …

For narcissists, it’s difficult to speak from the heart or to tell the truth. Many narcissists feel misunderstood — this could be because they never say anything without a hidden agenda.

Dan Neuharth Ph.D., MFT writes in a “Psychology Today” article, “Narcissists are mortally afraid of feeling humiliated or being…

On average, I’d say I ask my boyfriend at least once a week if [insert one of my cat’s names here] is happy. He usually replies yes, they’re happy. This should satisfy me, but it doesn’t.

I must then speak directly to the cat in question and ask them if…

"Move it, or I'm going to rip off your head and poop down the hole," Sebastian yelled at the driver in front of him. Well, he shouted something like that, only not as nice.

The truth is, it wasn't "nice" at all, but it was better than his regular driving…

Every city or town has its own set of characters. One of my favorite L.A. characters was a woman I used to see walking around in the late 1990s.

I'll call her the Stilts Lady.

Stilts Lady was a tall, slender woman of a certain age dressed head to toe…

ANIMAL WELFARE | ADOPTION | PET OWNERSHIP

My friend J wanted to adopt two kittens for his grandmother. He was her caretaker and was willing to take on the care of two kittens. What should have been easy enough to accomplish turned into a major challenge.

Appointments to meet kittens were canceled at the last minute; when…

“Mom, why are you shaking the garage?”

I was either 5 or 6 years old and had just experienced my first earthquake. I wasn’t scared at all, only confused by the thought of my mother shaking our detached garage like someone trying to loosen apples from high branches.

I’m grateful…