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Category: Vayo

Playbill: Paul Lipson as Tevye
The other dairyman

The other dairyman

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I’ve been thinking a lot about Tevye lately. Tevye. The protagonist in the Tevye the Dairyman stories. The pious, irrepressible lead character in Fiddler on the Roof. When we moved from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1970, we were suddenly just a quick train ride from New York City. And Broadway. Dad took that commuter train into Manhattan every weekday. One Friday, he brought home six tickets to a hit musical called Fiddler on the Roof. I haven’t come…

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2021 Harry & Linda in Lenox
Book maniacs

Book maniacs

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Maybe I should have asked my oldest brother if he and his wife are sick of being called “maniacs.” You know – being long-time Maine residents and all. Harry and Linda are avid readers. They regale family and friends each December with a letter tucked into their Christmas card detailing their recommendations based on their favorite reads of that year. Here’s a compilation from the past several years: Harry: After rereading Bleak House, Harry still ranks it as Dickens’ best….

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2021 stats - top countries
The first 250

The first 250

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Farmer Gary and I have a tradition. Each evening, he asks me to look up how many readers visited this blog over the past day. It ranges greatly, depending on whether I’ve added a new post that day. Then comes the really good part. “Where are they from?” Blog analytics are fascinating. I haven’t splurged on a deep-dive system (yet), but the one I use lists readers by their nation. Gary never tires of it. Of course, the majority of…

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Bill and Mom in 1976
‘Valentine for Bill’

‘Valentine for Bill’

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Who writes a love poem from her hospital bed? My mom, apparently. The year was 1982, the month was January. The hospital was Yale – New Haven. (“This should fix her plumbing problems once and for all,” Dad explained with his usual delicate word choice.) The love poem was a Valentine to her youngest child. Valentine for Bill Our last son is the Red Fox.My pen becomes the glass blower’spipe as I sing of him withincandescent love beyond myunderstanding. Somewhere…

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Cameron and "Stuart Little"
Books for a snowy day

Books for a snowy day

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January was a good month for reading books. A very good month. Farmer Gary and I enjoyed a couple of overnights with grandson Cameron, who was delighted to write up the following after he and I finished reading Stuart Little together: Bonus Book: Stuart Little by E. B. White A mouse of adventures, Stuart Little is a brave mouse, always thinking of ideas, and has cool adventures. One weird thing is that he was born by a family of humans…

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bookmarks can be treasured notes from friends, such as this one from Madeleine L'Engle
Bookmarks

Bookmarks

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What do you use to save your place in a book? A piece of scrap paper? An old photo or business card? A piece of toilet paper (we know where you’ve been reading!) or paper towel? Maybe a bonafide bookmark? As long as you don’t – gasp – fold, spindle or mutilate the page of your book, nearly anything will do. While cataloging the hundreds of inherited books from my parents’ collection, I’ve come across many bookmarks. Some stir a…

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2022 Dave and Marie-Susanne
From Chaucer’s wit to Prejean’s wisdom

From Chaucer’s wit to Prejean’s wisdom

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My middle brother, Dave, sent me this list of “favorite reads from 2021.” He and his wife, Marie-Susanne, put together these recommendations from the books they enjoyed over the past year. Without further ado: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb  So what happens when a therapist hits a personal rough spot? For example, being dumped by the boyfriend she thought she was going to marry? Gottlieb, the therapist in…

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1940s dance souvenir photo
‘Double Date’

‘Double Date’

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Pages held together by a rusted paper clip. Paper not exactly crumbling, but after seven decades, it’s discolored and brittle. A short story, written so long ago. Long hidden in a mountain of college papers, here’s a six-page class assignment. A short story, neatly typed, with a few pencil scratches. Probably a “final draft,” as there’s no grade or notes from the professor. I can only imagine Dad’s reaction if he were still here to reminisce. He loved it when…

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1958 Harry & Dave in snow
Snow day

Snow day

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I didn’t sleep last night. Not a wink. Not sure why, other than one of the challenges (and great pleasures) of retirement is not having a schedule set by anyone but yourself. James is back at college, so there wasn’t a school-aged son to stand at the darkened window and ask repeatedly, “Do you think we’ll get a snow day tomorrow? Just in case – can I stay up late?” It was always such a temptation to let the boys…

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1950 Mom in Twelfth Night
‘Twelfth Night’

‘Twelfth Night’

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Shakespeare. Near the top of the list of topics I wanted to talk to Dad about for this family blog was his – and Mom’s – love of Shakespeare. Over the months following Mom‘s passing in 2019, I found it best to introduce a potential story topic to Dad during one of our nightly calls, with the intent to bring it back up three or four times. As Dad reminisced, I scribbled notes madly. Alas, we only talked about Shakespeare…

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