Joseph Strysko, Bowler, Square Dancer
I often think of what the world will be like when all of the veterans and war heroes die. Our society and the little town I live in are full of these guys, many of whom are still married to the woman they met three or four or even five […]
The Places We Live Bring Tough Lives Closer
Yesterday I stumbled upon one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a long time on the web. It was a site called “the Places We Live,”by Jonas Bendiksen, an art project that tells the first-person stories of people who live in some of the most crowded and dangerous cities […]
Philly’s Phamous Phans Get Ratted Out by SMS
I know a guy named Chet who is from Philly, and he is a rapid Eagles fan. It’s pronounced ‘Iigles,’ and he had that famous Philly accent that sounds a little like a Delaware or Maryland accent. I read today in the WSJ about how this city is combatting its […]
A Man Pedaled by, Alone on a Bike Built For Two
After the cafe closed, I walked the sidewalk and sat for a spell at our outdoor tables. Birds chirped and I savored the crispness of the late fall approaching evening. I sat and scanned the common, and the v of the two streets across the way. Then a man came […]
On the Cobblestoned Streets of Portland, Memories
Nostalgia rained over me yesterday as I retraced the steps of my callow youth. On our way back from Southport Island we stopped by Portland’s Munjoy Hill neighborhood where Kathryn and I lived from 1981-83. I drove around the gentrified area, glistening in the fall sunlight and full of colorful […]
The Real Lobstermen in Boothbay Harbor Maine
We plucked five 11-year-old lobsters from big green tanks at this lobster pound in Boothbay Harbor, Maine this morning. News reports say that the prices are too low, less than $3 per pound wholesale, and the lobstermen are suffering because people think of this food as something only for celebrations. […]
Nothing Makes Me More Mad Than Traffic Jams
On Friday afternoon when I told my cafe staff that I was heading up to Maine tonight, they looked at me funny. Yeah, why WOULD I plan on driving nearly five hours starting at 6 pm on a Friday night? Well, because that’s when we can go, and our dear […]
The Odds n Ends, Ins and Outs of the Business
It’s a day in the life….some of the interesting things I did today… *Negotiated a deal to once again exhibit at the New York Times Travel Show. Had to redo what we promised the show promoters, but all is good and the contract will be signed shortly. Nice to know […]
What Makes Her Wealthy is Doing Good
Again and again, we read about the terrible calamity and the $7 trillion in asset value that’s been lost in the stock market. It’s comforting, though to read about how much worse it was in 1929. Karen Blumenthal wrote yesterday in the WSJ about how back then, banks eagerly loaned […]
Palin as President? The GOP Blew It With This Choice
Thomas Friedman summed up the most convincing argument against voting Republican in November in his NY Times column. I’d love to hear Larry and the rest of those who identify as conservatives answer this question. How can they do it? “How in the world can conservative commentators write with a […]
Running Out of Solar Panels? Now That’s Progress!
I am heartened in these dark monetary times about a few things. First, alternative energy is really, truly becoming mainstream and the politicians are really starting to get it. The tax credits for solar, wind and geothermal are going to be renewed, and when President Obama gets in office, his […]
Diss My Cafe? Óh No You Don’t
Getting ready to scoot up to Maine on Friday night, and visit the summer rental Kentski made famous in his article in PreviewMA magazine and GoNOMAD. We’ll leave around 5, and travel through the night downeast, to arrive around 10 pm in Boothbay Harbor ME. I love this kind of […]
Old Timer Says Pipelines and Ships Are The Way To Go
Lately people have come into the cafe looking for our copy of the Wall Street Journal. They seem to want to read it more than ever, with the tough times that everyone is talking about on Wall St. Today I found a story about a man who remembers the 1929 […]
Dakota Roads Are Made of Ground Up Computers
People were happy in Deerfield yesterday, so I guess our big plan worked out well. I was sequestered at my little tent at the edge of town, giving out the maps, so I didn’t really get to many tag sales, but the streets were full and I got many reports […]
It’s Tag Sale Day in Deerfield: Will Anyone Show Up?
Ok, well now I am nervous. Today’s the big day. I’ve sent out emails to everyone I know, I have talked on WHMP and WHYN, trumpeting this big news, and tried hard to convince Channel 3 in Springfield to put us on their evening news. I was up at 5 […]
Memories of Maryland Still Entice Ambrosio
There are some tiny bits of good news, you just have to look a little harder. For instance, last night I read in the WSJ that the number of illegal immigrants coming into the US from our southern border is plummeting. Maybe it’s because there are so fewer jobs, or […]
On Brooklyn’s A Line, "Da Genie’s Outta da Bottle"
On my way to my last trip, I took a Greyhound bus and then the subway from Times Square all the way out through Brooklyn to Howard Beach. It’s a long ride underneath some of the city’s worst neighborhoods, passing notorious stops like Van Siclen, New Lots and Euclid Avenues […]
Conversations in the Cafe
In the cafe today, a well-dressed man in a jacket and a pretty blond wife came in, followed by a youngster wearing a blue blazer. The man strode up the counter with a confident air, and asked if we could make him a poached egg. We told him that we’d […]