Suprise Me

The moon has a spell-binding hold on our collective imagination and never more-so than the summer of 1969. That summer was my sixth and last summer as a camper at the National Music Camp (now Interlochen Arts Camp) in Interlochen, MI, the granddaddy of fine arts camps, set in a pine forest between two lakes… Read More

  Supermarkets, those sprawling temples of consumerism, have been a fixture in our lives for over a century. From the first Piggly Wiggly in Memphis to the sprawling mega-stores of today, these retail behemoths have witnessed countless triumphs and tribulations. While most of our supermarket experiences are routine and unremarkable, there are those occasional encounters… Read More

1970 was a turbulent year. Four of us graduated with perfect grade-point averages, but we were not asked to give remarks at graduation. I think the school feared what we might say. It was just a few weeks after protesting students at Kent State were shot by National Guardsmen. So I had to be content… Read More

My first experience with death was my grandfather’s, when I was eleven years old. Both of my maternal grandparents (Nana and Papa) lived with us in our big brick house in New Jersey, and had for as long as I can remember — possibly since before I was born. My grandmother had one of the… Read More

The offer we couldn't refuse: the Eco-Freaks needed a large truck, and the mobster had one. Read More

It is an auspicious day for a cremation There will be no tears today Tears would drag your spirit back to earth Your pallbearers wear earrings and black shirts Sporting logos of Harley-Davidson, Heavy Metal; On your wreath, a banner Advertises the Sheraton Nusa Dua The cremation tower, sunny white and yellow, Adorned with your… Read More

It is remarkable how you really could carry everything you needed. Read More

Off of West Tisbury Road, in Katama, the beachy section of Edgartown, just a few minutes away from my home on Martha’s Vineyard, is this glorious farm stand; Morning Glory Farm. They have their own fields and sell their own produce throughout the season, open from just before Memorial Day until the day before Thanksgiving,… Read More

To help us become proficient in using a mouse, Solitaire was installed on all our computers. Read More

      Rush hour is a daily ordeal, a gauntlet thrown down by urban existence. It is a time when the open road, a symbol of freedom, transforms into a congested, serpentine nightmare. The once-fluid asphalt becomes a parking lot in motion, a claustrophobic ballet of honking horns and overly impatient drivers. Beyond the… Read More