Suprise Me

The Muslim staff that worked in our house protected the gardener and his Hindu family, temporary refugees in their own land. Read More

The third week of August on Martha’s Vineyard always brings the much-anticipated Agricultural Fair or “Ag Fair”, as it is called. The Vineyard has a huge farming community and everyone gets to show off their season’s accomplishments, from the best pies and jams, to livestock and largest vegetables. There is a whole display hall for… Read More

Maybe male chauvinism had forced Lily and Carmelita to become the better monopolists. Read More

We welcomed a sexy teen to stay with us. Read More

(as reported in The University Times) Read More

Then, in the fall of 1963, an amazing thing happened.  The State Department, through the United States Information Service (USIS), sponsored a goodwill tour of American jazz musicians.  None other than the Duke Ellington Band—yes, that one!--made an astoundingly extensive tour that, according to google, went from New York to Damascus, Amman, Jerusalem, Beirut, Kabul, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Colombo, Kandy, Dacca, Lahore, Karachi, Teheran, Isfahan, Abadan, Baghdad, Beirut and Ankara.  You may have noticed Dacca in that list. Read More

Decades before there was Google, there was “the City Desk.” It wasn’t a digital resource; it was an actual person picking up a phone and dutifully looking for an answer to any reasonable question you posed. “How does the population of Indiana (where I grew up) compare to that of our neighboring states—Ohio and Illinois?”… Read More

I am a punctual person. I insist on being on time. It is part of my makeup and it bothers me if I am late or others I deal with (including family members) are not as punctual. I have always had nice time pieces, dating back to my youth, when my grandfather (who owned a… Read More

Facebook. Such a silly thing when it started, just a way for college students to check each other out, find out if someone was available or in a relationship, whatever. When it expanded beyond those with an “edu” email address and became available to all, I joined, at the invitation of a friend who wanted me… Read More

Mr Skeleton  Every Halloween when my son was young he and the other kids in our 17 story apartment building would start on the top floor and work their way down ringing doorbells. And for the kids who rang our bell,  we’d set up a spooky tableau with a floppy plastic skeleton we kept for… Read More