A major sea change: why COVID-19 is a turning point in history. So, it is the end of March 2020, and many of us are sequestered in our homes, trying not to get the virus that’s now sweeping the globe… Read More ›
Culture
THE LOST JOY OF POLYESTER
Life in Leisure Suits Back in the 1970s, some clown decided that men were overdressed and need stretchy, comfortable clothing. And thus they invented the polyester leisure suit and to his immense embarrassment, Garry had one. I never saw it,… Read More ›
UNDERSTANDING DEMOCRACY STARTS EARLY – BY ELLIN CURLEY
I never thought that parenting practices could have a direct effect on the health and functionality of our democracy, yet that was the thesis of an article in the Sunday New York Times (Sept. 1, 2018). The article, by Jonathan Haidt… Read More ›
WHAT’S NEXT? WHO’S NEXT?
Like most everyone I know, I’m waiting to find out the results of the election. It’s just a few days away. We all have theories about what’s going to happen, but nothing substantial. Here in Massachusetts, maybe the bluest state… Read More ›
ALCOHOL ABUSE AND PRIVILEGE – ELLIN CURLEY
Since Brett Kavanagh, the Supreme Court nominee, now Justice, has been in the news, so have discussions about excessive drinking among teenagers. Apparently, there are studies that show that rich, privileged teenagers are more likely to abuse alcohol. An article… Read More ›
IT’S THREE O’CLOCK AND WHAT SHALL I DO WITH THE DEFROSTED MINCED MEAT?
This is the time of day when I have to ponder dinner. I think Owen’s going to make meatloaf. He does that well. Better than I do. I used to make pot roast to die for, but somewhere along the… Read More ›
FROM THE EARTH ABIDES PROJECT: YEAR 71 — BY RANGERDON
The Year 71 – EARTH ABIDES By George R. Stewart Posted on July 20, 2020 This is certainly the Year of Earth Abides, Year 71 to carve on Indian Rock, and there will a new printing of Earth Abides in October to celebrate. It… Read More ›
WHEN AND HOW THE PLAGUE FINALLY ENDED
I had a great conversation with my mortgage bank today. I’ve got a six month don’t have to pay my mortgage thing, but I can if I want to. I want to. Sometimes I have a hard time doing it… Read More ›
BELLWETHERS AND BULLIES – MARILYN ARMSTRONG
When I was a girl in elementary school, probably around fifth grade, so I must have been about 8 or 9 – I started school almost a year early. It had to do with New York state’s cutoff entry dates… Read More ›
HISTORY AND PLAGUE’S END – Marilyn Armstrong
It turns out that epidemics and pandemics all end the same way. People get tired of worrying about being sick and say “Life or death, I don’t want the rest of my life to be spent in hiding.” It helps… Read More ›
WE WERE NEVER A CURRIER AND IVES COUPLE – GARRY ARMSTRONG
The title comes from an episode of “The West Wing” which we are binging again in this early spring of discontent and dismay. The series is even better this time around, a great mental prescription from the Coronavirus while our… Read More ›
BRAIN SNOBS – Marilyn Armstrong
It isn’t just culture that divides us into classes. What we watch on television, see in the movies, and read also puts us into a category, often unfairly by people who don’t “get” why we like what we like. I read… Read More ›
