My grandmother had a thick, green strip of grass in her back yard, in front of a yellowing garage that, far as I know, she never used. When the lawn reached its lushest — sometime between June and September — I’d drag one of my brothers out there with a glove and a ball, and… Read More The problem with baseball
The boy is better than halfway through college now, which is, for me, simply stupefying. Not so much because of the “I remember when we were walking him to the bus stop,” thing. Although, if I could remember that, I’m sure that would be part of it. No, Luke has wound his way past the… Read More College educations
Before I start in on my latest reading escapade, a confession: I bailed on a novel recently. Or, more accurately, I bailed on one finally. This does not make me feel good. I feel, in fact, like a damn failure. Even though I now agree that parachuting out of a book is OK — there’s… Read More Going down
The last time I spent any legitimate time in a library — I mean before this last time or two and not counting those mid-day carrol snoozes on campus so many years ago — I had to decipher the Dewey Decimal System, flip my way through drawers and drawers full of little index cards, wander… Read More Card me
In a mental hospital in New York I visited Savannah after her second suicide attempt. I leaned down to kiss her on both cheeks, European style. Then, staring into her exhausted eyes, I asked her the series of questions I always asked whenever we met after a long separation. “What was your family life like,… Read More Writing and re-reading
The president of the United States is at odds with his advisers, again, which probably tells you all that you need to know about this president. I mean, have you ever had a boss who doesn’t trust his or her employees? A boss who flat-out doesn’t believe them? Who thinks, always, that s/he knows better? That… Read More Crazy, or just getting old?
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