Category: Uncategorized

I don’t want to give you the impression I’m obsessed with old armchairs. It’s just that when I see one by the side of the road, pleading desperately to be adopted, or find one languishing among the clutter of a second-hand shop, it’s like a seeing an abandoned puppy with big, sad eyes pleading, “Please…

​“In this game of life, I seem to be headed for ‘extra innings,’” my friend Jerry wrote last week in the invitation to his 95th birthday party and jazz concert. We carried lawn chairs and picnic blankets to a shady spot under the trees and settled in. Although I’m the least musical person on the planet,…

​“Any group that feels obligated to include ‘ Are you a sex cult? ’ on its frequently asked questions page probably has something of a public relations problem, even when the answer is, ‘No,’” observes journalist Jon Brooks. You can see his point. He was writing about Lafayette Morehouse, a commune founded in 1968 whose residents still…

Who thinks up hats like this? Who wears them — and where? How does anyone put together an outfit that pairs well with a reproduction of a full English breakfast? And seriously, what are those purple things at the top? To me, they look alarmingly like the pig’s ears I once impulsively ordered in a…

​It’s never easy being different, especially in high school. Just ask the much-bullied Josh Duff, a neurodivergent free-thinker who was dreading his upcoming prom, which he planned to attend alone, in an outfit sewn by his mom. Then his dad reached out to some pals he rode motorcycles with, and the response was astonishing. On…

“One day when Troy was four and Scott was two,” my friend Ginnie said during a Sunday picnic, “Scott came running in, tears pouring out of his little eyes, with a big red bite mark on his cheek. ‘What happened?’ I asked. Troy came in after him and said, ‘Scott bit himself!’ I said, ‘Oh,…

It seemed like such a no-brainer. Two harassed parents, four of us kids under the age of ten, a long drive, a hot day, and a glimpse of an empty white sand beach on the California coast.  “Let’s stop for a swim!” my mom said. We pulled over, tugged on our bathing suits, and dashed…

Rich has always had a firm grasp on life’s essentials. When I mentioned the Puppy Ice Cream Social, he said, “You had me at ice cream.” For me, the irresistible draw was the chance to play with puppies. In these challenging times, there seems to be greater truth than ever to Charles de Gaulle’s famous…

Remember when you were little and would do anything to avoid eating  vegetables? I vividly recall being eight years old and watching in awe as a toddler of my acquaintance had the bright idea of getting rid of unwanted mashed potatoes by spooning them into their diaper. (Not surprisingly, this ploy did not escape adult…