Hey-o Retrospect nation I am here, back from the era of dial-up phone calls and disco dancing to drop some cautionary wisdom on any younger minds out there. Some might think their generation invented the whole “safety first” ideas with kale smoothies and mindfulness apps, but let me tell you, boomers like me had that… Read More

Two college girls on a somewhat risky summer adventure. Read More

Early in the relationship, back when we were both freshman college students, back in New Jersey, my First Love’s parents decided, for various reasons, to hate me. Virulently. Read More

Berkshire County can feel like a very sleepy backwater when we have to wait for hours while a bomb squad with a robotic device drives to our rescue along the Mass Pike, all the way from Boston. Read More

WHERE I’M FROM inspired by a poem by George Ella Lyon I am from the old country: Belarus, Poland, running from the Cossacks The Lady with the Lamp: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free I am from Far Rockaway, NY; St. Louis, Detroit I am from dill pickles,… Read More

Bronx Girl “The Bronx?  No thonx!!”  wrote the poet Ogden Nash. As a kid growing up in the Bronx I didn’t get it,  I didn’t realize my borough had a bad rap,  and I certainly wouldn’t have understood why.  The Bronx was my home and I loved it.  (See Parkchester, Celebrate Me Home) I even… Read More

I used to joke that I had motor oil running through my veins. Thanks to my great uncle: Uncle Meyer, as I’ve written about before, most of the Sarasons came north from St. Louis to Detroit to work for GM (my father worked in Flint for the Chevrolet Division starting in 1937, but after WWII, did… Read More

One of the most remarkable discoveries of my dive into family history is the connection between my mother and a close friend with a secret (from me) history. Read More

I Yam What I Yam By Kevin J. W. Driscoll (c) 2023 So, ya wanna know if where I’m from defines me? Well buckle up, cuz here comes a geography lesson straight outta Beantown. First off, let’s get this straight: I ain’t some Hallmark movie character where my hometown paints a quaint mural on my… Read More

A town can inspire and fuel dreams, usually without us realizing it until much later. Read More