My mother always had a fondness for the scroll of hand-painted figures, dressed in traditional Chinese clothes, carrying produce or hawking other wares.  They were framed in pieces and hung on the wall along with other mementoes from her time in Peking (now Beijing) in the late 1940’s.  She lived in a neighborhood of classic… 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

Skee Ball When I was a kid my grandparents lived a few blocks from the beach in Far Rockaway,  in Queens,  New York.   I loved visiting them  – and especially in the summer when Rockaways Playland was open for the season. Created in 1902 by roller coaster designer LaMarcus Adna Thompson,  Rockaways Playland had… Read More

Both Sides Now 1968 was a pivotal year for our nation,  and it was for me personally as well. That year Judy Collins recorded the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides Now,  and I listened to it over and over again.  In 1968  I was looking at love from both sides myself,  and in June I… Read More

In the summer, the dense greenery along the Potomac River covers houses, streets, and history.  We moved to the area in 1966 and slowly discovered some unexpected treasures--the towpath along the abandoned C & O canal, Sycamore Island, the old settlement of Cabin John, the Clara Barton house.  The Glen Echo Amusement Park. Read More

Amusement Parks have always held a special place in the hearts of children and adults alike. They are a microcosm of joy, excitement, and lots of controlled chaos. For many, the most cherished memories are from those carefree days spent navigating the labyrinth of rides and attractions. For me one of the quintessential amusement park… Read More

Carousel Although merry-go-rounds or carousels are usually found at amusement parks and state fairs,  the oldest platform carousel in the country,  Flying Horses,  is actually a permanent fixture in the charming town of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard where we’ve spent many idyllic summer vacations.  (See Menemsha Sunset  and Wishing for Rain on the Vineyard) When… Read More

It wasn’t Selma.  But it was Detroit.  It was very public.  But, for me, it was deeply personal. There were two days of inner city rioting just after Martin Luther King’s assassination. And as, if not more importantly, the previous summer (1967) the Detroit police provoked inner city black residents to engage five days and… Read More

Rye Playland Growing up in the Bronx our nearest amusement park was Rye Playland on Long Island Sound north of the city in Westchester County. As a kid I was often taken there by my parents,  but my memories of those childhood trips are vague.  As a teenager however, I remember Rye as a favorite… Read More

(Note: this prompt first came up on July 23, 2018, which is when this story was originally written and published. I have added some new anecdotes and made some edits. It should be noted that as a high school teenager, I was not paying much attention to the political world around me.) The radio alarm… Read More