Category Archives: Personal

Roma Contrarian

Posted on 02/05/2019 by

First impressions matter. When the camera finally pans up from the luscious opening visual of water on stone, more water on stone, even more water on stone; my imagination stirs at the wondrous places it might lift us up to. … Continue reading →

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In the Auto Zone

Posted on 01/31/2019 by

My recipe for a happy life includes: giving no credence to Breaking News in the moment; being curious of all things natural, technical, and human; and finding humor, rather than fear, in the many things I do not understand. Therefore, … Continue reading →

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Suicide Walk to the Sea

Posted on 01/24/2019 by

In 1978, the closing shot of Coming Home is Bruce Dern, as Marine Captain Bob Hyde, hanging his uniform on a lifeguard stand and walking into the Pacific Ocean at a funereal stride. He has lost the war, lost his … Continue reading →

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Sorry: Not!

Posted on 01/17/2019 by

This morning, as I walked around Fresh Pond, a hoard of runners came upon me and cut me off as they turned left into the parking lot. “Sorry!” One of the women giggled. On Tuesday, our habitually late yoga teacher … Continue reading →

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What’s Your Narrative?

Posted on 01/03/2019 by

Divorced white male, retired from a career in construction industry, spends most days at the gym or taking solitary walks, evenings watching old movies or PBS American Experience. What have we here; a psychopath in training.     Successful architect … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Wish

Posted on 12/27/2018 by

In January I watched a man die. I had never witnessed death in real time before. Thus began 2018, my year of gloom. Harry, a longtime friend, drained away before my eyes. His breath crescendoed in torment, until it eased … Continue reading →

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There Goes the Neighborhood

Posted on 12/20/2018 by

Change happens continuously. But we humans only notice it episodically. I’ve lived in the same neighborhood for more than 25 years, a few crooked blocks separated from the rest of Cambridge by Route 2. I call it the suburbs of … Continue reading →

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Affirmative Action Admissions

Posted on 11/21/2018 by

If you’re interested in what’s happening at Harvard these days (as everyone in Cambridge is) I suggest you read Hua Hsu’s recent article, ‘School Colors: The Fight About Who Gets into the Ivy League,’ in The New Yorker, October 15, … Continue reading →

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Craigslist: For Sale By Owner / Free Stuff

Posted on 11/15/2018 by

There are thousands, millions, of ways to describe our world as opposing dualities: ‘Can’t do’ folks versus ‘Can do’ folks; foodies versus refuelers; Patriots fans versus the other 98% of Americans. It’s fun to figure out which camp I occupy … Continue reading →

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The N-word Comes to Emerson

Posted on 10/23/2018 by

I’m excited. Invited to ArtsEmerson Play Reading Book Club for The Peculiar Patriot, a one-women show by poet and activist Liza Kessie Peterson. Excitement wavers. The assembled include fourteen middle-aged white women, three grey-haired white men, and a trio of … Continue reading →

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