Chris Hartshorne, We Already Miss You
A great big light has gone out in our family. Our gregarious, hilarious, fun-loving and smiling cousin Chris, known to most as Tucker, has passed away. It’s damn hard to believe that he won’t be around to smile and charm us, and bring us back so many memories just by […]
‘Hoarders’ Makes Me Want to Throw More Stuff Out
Christina and Janet are two middle aged women with the same terrible problem. They were profiled on a chilling television program on A&E called ‘Hoarders,’ which showed their jam-packed houses where piles upon piles of clothing, boxes and thousands of other things lie in disgusting piles. There are narrow trails […]
If You Get Pulled Over, Don’t Flash a Bogus Badge
“Do you know who I am?” is the well-worn phrase that people who think they’re important use when confronted with hurdles like being pulled over by a cop, or a big long line. In today’s Gazette, I read about a former selectman who tried the same thing when he was […]
If We Can Imagine It…It Can Be Done
I drove down to Costco for supplies, and as I often do, took the longer slower way through the flats of Holyoke up to Cindy’s. I stopped by this bridge and got a good look at the former Parson’s Paper factory, burned up and wreckage. This might someday be the […]
An Eminence Grise Speaks Out in Favor of Lord Leno
I read in today’s NY Times about an NBC executive who came to the sudden defense of the chin–also known as Jay Leno–who has been attacked recently by his fellow late-night talk show hosts. Ebersol says its gutless, and ‘chicken hearted’ for Conan to be mad at Jay, because the […]
While the Tourist Boat Passes, She Flashes Boobs
It’s a whirlwind of a day and finally, the cafe is chugging on all eight cylinders, shaking off a lousy few weeks of post-holiday doldrums. With my most excellent staff handing all of the soup and pannini making, I had time to do what I should be doing, publishing stories […]
This Has Gotta Be a Plant…
A new study finds that couples who do more housework have more sex on average than those who slack on keeping the house tidy. After interviewing almost 7,000 couples about their household chores and frequency of sex, researchers found a direct correlation between the two. More housework completed = more […]
Lava in Antigua
photo by Kyle Hammons
Life in a Little Village, Joyous to Have No Commute
I just got back from bringing my grandson Nathan to school. It’s less than a half mile from my house, and the same tiny distance from my office. As I drove home I thought about the difference between my life in 2010, and my car-oriented life of 2004. I used […]
The Dinosaurs Can Attest: Asteroids Are Dangerous
I tore an op-ed piece out of one of last week’s WSJ’s because it both worried and reassured me. It was about asteroids, one of which is expected to nearly hit the earth in 2032. It’s a long time from now, but in Russia, they are gearing up to actually […]
Spike Lee’s ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ a Bloody Mess
Last night I watched a Spike Lee movie. It was terrible, and it was very long. Amazingly, I kept on until the bitter end, until the last bullet hole was drilled into a body with spurting blood, until the final Nazi machine gunner was thrown down and the last leg […]