Suprise Me

From my files: A Japanese ritual: emotion, laughter, love and union. Read More

In 1965, Tom Lehrer recorded the song “Pollution,” purporting to give advice to a foreign traveler visiting the US. If you visit American city You will find it very pretty Just two things which you must beware Don’t drink the water and don’t breathe the air. At the time it seemed funny, since usually it… Read More

Back before FOMO was a thing, it never dawned on me to do anything on “spring break.” Now, what do we think about when we think about spring break anyway? Off to the beach or the slopes, depending–right? College or high school kids up to no good, shenanigans and high jinks that these days are… Read More

Her superstitions were old wives’ tales she brought to America from the old country as a girl. Read More

Antofagasta is a northern port city in Chile. Read More

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackelton and his crew sailed The Endurance to the Antarctic. It was crushed in the ice pack and sank in the Weddell Sea but all of her crew survived. Frank Hurley, the photographer onboard, captured incredible photographs of the entire experience. My husband is fascinated by this story and has read… Read More

1967. The Summer of Love was the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. I was going to turn sixteen at the end of August — which meant that I had been claiming to be sixteen for months. I thought I was very sophisticated and wise. Retrospect readers may have already seen… Read More

On my first day, it was show time. I nervously knocked on the door and entered to find a pleasant young man who listened patiently as I introduced myself in halting Spanish and asked what had brought him to the clinic.  Read More

I had learned that as a general rule in France, one could eat breakfast much more economically in a bar—and more swiftly too--than in a bistro, restaurant, or brasserie. Read More

Woodstock was truly a film best enjoyed when stoned. Read More