Mohammed Was The Original Pirate, in the Desert
It’s a glorious day to sit on the back patio and what better to read than the weekend WSJ? Here I found out about the prophet Mohammed’s career as a pirate, and how today’s Somali pirates are carrying on a long Islamic tradition. Stephen Prothero writes that when Mohammed and […]
It was the Bomb…the Love Bomb…at the Roadhouse
It was, as some people say, The Bomb! Love Bomb rocked out last night at the Route 63 Roadhouse, that funky music and dancing shack right next to State Highway 63 in Millers Falls. I didn’t know if I’d have much gas left after a few Northampton Pale Ales at […]
Frank Moro Jr: We Will Miss Him
Frank Moro Jr. has left this green earth. I didn’t know anything about his illness, I just remember his smiling face, whenever I’d come in with car problems. Frank was one of the first and friendliest people I met when I moved to town in 1990. He ran Fisher’s Garage, […]
This Is Progress: Computer Recycling in Holyoke
From local news from abc40, By Eric Fisher HOLYOKE, Mass. (abc40) — Technology is everywhere, but once you’re done with it, what do you do? In Massachusetts, computers are not allowed in landfills due to their toxic components. But a Holyoke company is offering a way for people to recycle […]
When the Bucks Trump the Audience, It’s Time to Go
Hey DeWolf, don’t let the door hit you on the way out! Chris DeWolf was infamous, in my view, when he declared that he’d prefer a profit to 300 pageviews. He said he’d give up all of those eyeballs to just make a darn bit of money. And abandoning your […]
Mike Rigali’s Hideaway Hookah Bar in Holyoke
We discovered a cozy hideaway when we attended a Holyoke Chamber function below the Waterfront on Main St. in the city’s Springdale neighborhood last night. Both of us had been to the big bar upstairs before but never to their much cozier little bar called the Bungalow, located on a […]
A Smooth Rolling Drawer Makes Life Better
I’m on a roll with my chronicles of life’s little joys. I’ve found another. For years, almost decades, I suppose, the top drawer in my kitchen cabinet has stuck. It was frustrating to open it, resisting and veering slightly off course, so you’d have to really grab it and it […]
In Former Soviet States, Drunkenness Prevails
At the crack of dawn this morning Nathan crept into my room and woke me up. I don’t mind; these early morning sessions where we go downstairs before Mommy and baby wake up are among my most cherished. Before I was made to play kid’s games on the laptop, I […]
From Rolando in Cuba, Another Missive
I was pleased to hear from my new friend Rolando, a Cuban engineer who uses our “Send a Friend” to stay in touch with his brother in Virginia. I hope to visit him in Cuba soon. My friend! I happy that you can understand my reasons, since I has been […]
Egret in the Bayou, Orange Texas
This is one of thousands of egrets who live in the Adams Bayou that we saw from behind the blind at the Shangri La Gardens in Orange Texas yesterday.
A Fine Way To Spend Saturday Night in Texas
On my last night in Texas we did it up in style. I was picked up in an SUV by our lovely hosts Stephanie and Ashley who took us to an upscale Mexican joint called Pablanos. There we joined Stephanie’s husband Sean and sat in a cozy circular table, where […]
Michael Hoke’s Vigorous Love Teaching Nature
Michael W. Hoke makes nature, plants and his incredible garden come alive. He speaks with vigor and boundless enthusiasm for teaching children about nature and about the gifts that the Shangri La Botanical Gardens provide the entire Southeast Texas region. In a pounding rain interspersed with thunder and lightning, we […]
The Perty Toes of Texas
“One thing you gotta have here are pretty toes,” said Ashley, “because in this part of Texas you’re going to be seeing them a lot!” Ashley and Stephanie told us this as they showed off their carefully pedicured digits, just before we shoved off in our canoes to float down […]
Wanna Know What’s Going on? Find out at Raos!
The name Rao’s Bakery Cafe brings a smile to anyone’s face who lives in Beaumont. There are four such establishments here in town and one in Houston. We met Jake Tortorice Jr, the owner of them all when we stopped by for a groaning plate of his goodies…kolache, spicy sausages […]
Angler on the Village Creek
This man told us about the fishing, and how for three years there was nothing. He suggested we take this photo and blow it up big and use it to promote Southeast Texas in one of them bro-chures. He spoke with the thick accent of Louisiana and Texas. People here […]
SE Texas Has Been Battered by Rita and Ike
In conversation after conversation here in Southeast Texas, the topic of hurricanes Rita and Ike comes up. So many lives were uprooted, and nature was changed in such profound ways, I learned. We spent the morning today on the Village Creek, with water the color of weak tea and downed […]
From a Cuban Emailer, An Explanation
I interrupt this continual coverage of my trip to Southeast Texas for a poignant reminder that the world close to us is indeed not free. I just got an email from a man whose first name is Rolando, who lives in Cuba. I had noticed that someone was sending out […]
Texas Tales: Terry Thomas and the Bobcat
We beached our canoes and kayaks on a sandbar on Village Creek, a tributary of the Neches river here in Southeast Texas. It was time for lunch and stories. Our guide had plenty of both, we soon found out. The day was sunny and the paddling along this gorgeous stretch […]