
As I keep telling myself, life is good
The birth of the spotless giraffe at a zoo in Tennessee, the only known one on earth, is important news to those of us who grew up as oddballs, seeing the spotted mama giraffe nuzzling her child, reme...
17 Feb 20247min

What endures is decency, believe me
I hear people complain about police and city planners and the health care system, but never about firemen or EMTs, and few complain about slow delivery of mail, perhaps because so few people write let...
10 Feb 20247min

The gift of Miss Helen Story, remembered
But I found my glasses today. They were in my jacket pocket. Sometimes they’re in a shirt pocket, sometimes perched on top of my head. The frenzy ends, the problem solves itself. The comedian is grate...
3 Feb 20248min

Sing on, dance on, good eye, ain't you happy
At the game I sat next to a true Twins fan named Alex who gave me the lowdown on various players and yelled the right things — “Looked good to me!” at the ump who’d called a strike a ball and “Good ey...
27 Jan 20247min

Flying around America, looking at crowds
I imagine that someday at America’s boarding gates, after the wheelchair passengers are boarded and Those Who Need Extra Time, then active military, there will be other categories of merit to be given...
20 Jan 20247min

The memory is alive with old roots
The simple pleasures of a long close marriage on a perfect October day, leaves dropping from the trees, eating an egg salad sandwich after her long morning walk, playing Scrabble. She talks about who ...
13 Jan 20248min

“Stand up for yourself,” I keep thinking to myself
So my friend’s fussiness about the coffee was, in fact, a tribute to the excellence of the restaurant. (Did I mention that this was in Northern California, in a town where a small bungalow goes for $1...
6 Jan 20247min

Finding harmony in the midst of chaos
I don’t belong in New York, I’m a loner, I have the social skills of a hoot owl, but I accept the amusement that the city offers. I saw a dog on the subway with earbuds on and I asked the guy holding ...
30 Des 20237min



















