Category Archives: Personal

The Prodigal Son

Posted on 04/03/2018 by

It’s been eight years since I attended a Sunday mass, with my daughter Abby during junior year aboard in Paris. She suggested that we go to mass at Notre Dame, more for the pageant than the message. Still, I was … Continue reading →

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The View from the Nest

Posted on 03/27/2018 by

Springtime, and we just finished our move back to Cambridge. Jake and I winter in the Blue Hills. We’re not migratory creatures, but we tell our friends we need serious hibernation, clean away from humans. Truth is, we leave just … Continue reading →

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Three Strikes Against Hillbilly Elegy

Posted on 03/20/2018 by

When I read Mitch Dunier’s Sidewalk I am filled with empathy for black men, often drug users, living on the street. When I read The New Jim Crow, I seethe over the injustice of systematically containing their imprisoned brothers. When … Continue reading →

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Free! Stuff!

Posted on 03/07/2018 by

Do you know anyone who needs another tote bag? How about a coaster, or a click pen inscribed with an organizational logo, or pretty much any of the stuff that comes in the obligatory goodie bag we all receive at … Continue reading →

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Call Me White

Posted on 01/30/2018 by

I stayed awake for three days straight during senior year fraternity rush. All day socializing with prospective members, late night parties back in the halcyon days of age 18 alcohol, topped by after-hour meetings deciding which guys to offer a … Continue reading →

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Yet Another Bastion of Privilege: The Chaste Mouth

Posted on 01/23/2018 by

To be a white man in 2018 is to find yourself dug daily into ever deeper depths of Dante Inferno-like privilege. I recently learned of an entirely new arena in which my behavior supposedly reflects my precipice status: I don’t … Continue reading →

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Case Studies in Sexual Harassment

Posted on 01/02/2018 by

When I first heard about Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey and Charlie Rose, about men with loose bathrobes and wandering hands who force penetration, I figured it was just another example of me being a stranger in this strange land. … Continue reading →

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