Once again the star of our evening’s show was the firepit, that I transported in the back of the truck down to Cindy’s for our little dinner party. En route in the black of night, the screen top blew out of the back of the truck, so when I arrived […]
I took a ride out into the country, exploring the village of South Hadley Falls, where I saw that one of the only thriving businesses are roadside bars. Many of the old style bars had their doors open, soaking in a bit of sunshine in their dark insides. I passed […]
Most of my regular pals were out of town. Phone messages left, emails sent, nobody around. I read on Facebook that this is a popular week to take off for vacation, since everybody gets that extra day on Monday off too. Despite my lack of connections I cruised the Avalon […]
Jim Romensko wakes up at 5 am every morning and heads to a cafe with his laptop. There he sifts through the news about the media business that earns him the biggest paycheck at the Poynter Institute. Today his column included a dispatch from Newsweek, in a column by Daniel […]
There’s a hum in the air, that distinct buzzing of the late summer early fall insects. The sunlight is clear, and direct, punishing at some points of the day, then turning to a softer glow in the late afternoon. I’m passing out flyers, one by one, one in the hand […]
You don’t hear much about Frank Sinatra Jr. Nat Hentoff wrote a piece praising the son of the famous singer in last night’s WSJ. I learned that the younger Frank as become as beloved to his musicians as his dad did, and about an honor that was bestowed upon him […]
Reading the local paper, I find an account that startled me. That’s because I can’t believe how cruel and mean men can be to women. Take Peter, featured in a big local story in the Recorder. He shows up in the doorway at his ex-girlfriend’s house late at night, uninvited, […]
I often say that television is better now than it ever was. That’s because reality TV is just more fun than anything scripted. Last night was a perfect case in point, I watched a new ABC show called “The Shark Tank” and I loved it. Six savvy multimillionaires sit in […]
Peggy Noonan wrote a piece in the WSJ after the death of Senator Kennedy that resonated with me, as her writing often does. It might have been a bit egotistical of her to print the text of a speech she wrote for Ronald Reagan that he gave at a fundraiser […]
You all know what the weather was last night. Rain, rain and more rain. A perfect night to go to an open air concert featuring James Taylor and Friends. We had the picnic inside our friend’s house in Lenox and headed over to Tanglewood. It was worth getting wet for. […]
My favorite stories are the ones that seem to jump up and write themselves. Some times a travel story is so easy to write because the topic compelled you, it made you want again and again to talk about it. With this kind of subject, writing’s a breeze. I published […]
Clint Eastwood is not only a powerful actor, but a powerful director too. I’ve enjoyed two Clint films in the past week, first it was Mystic River, and last night, his latest film “Gran Torino.”Torino begins with a premise…this character Walt Kowalski is a grump, and he’s carrying the world’s […]