Farmer Gary is a renaissance man. His decades of planting and harvesting crops have taken him into the realms of botany, nutrition, chemistry, geology, meteorology. There’s math, engineering, economics, accounting, Even a bit of stand-up comedy. “Back when they were doing some digging work over at Mom’s home place, I noticed one of the bulldozers was a Japanese brand, so I asked the mechanic how he liked working on the equipment. He told me ‘the hardest part was learning to…
February is a short and often gloomy month, so it felt appropriate to read Great Expectations for the first time. It’s a long coming-of-age story, full of Dickensian characters and coincidences. In the afterglow of reading a really good book, I tend to search for related podcast discussions and non-snooty book reviews. This episode of the Backlisted podcast provides a humorous yet sincere discussion of Great Expectations, Mr. Dickens, and even some sad, sad attempts at musical-theater adaptations. Meanwhile, here…
Today was the day. Time to head to the county courthouse for a little prick in the arm. The entire process took less than half an hour. Checked in, secured a second Covid vaccine appointment, got my “Fauci Ouchie,” and went into the rotunda to sit in a chair for 15-minutes, just in case. And whom should I run into? Why, it’s Mr. Lincoln! As must as I’d like to have sat next to him, Abraham and I agreed that…
As Valentine’s Day approached last year, Dad decided to bring back a tradition he and Mom started long ago: Mail giant chocolate hearts from Hawaii to loved ones back home. Their annual trips to The Big Island began when youngest son Bill was stationed there. My brother, the Marine: Mom and Dad liked their winter visits to Hawaii (with its depression-lifting sunshine) so much, they made it a habit. Even after Bill had long since returned to civilian life in…
Have you noticed the proliferation of news stories lately that people are going a little crazy during this pandemic? Crazy is the word for newlyweds John and Aubrie. But in a good way. Good crazy. They’re having fun creating fan art for, of all things, Ordinary Sausage on YouTube. This Ordinary Sausage guy is a bit of a nut, too. His shtick is to make – and eat – sausage out of not-so-sausage-y foods. The ingredients are simply not what…
With all the stress provided by the news media – a pandemic, wobbly economy, and the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol to name just a few – January seemed like a good month to delve into four works of fiction. Week 1: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini This is Hosseini’s third novel. Somehow, I think that at least part of his haunting stories are based on his experience as a child in Afghanistan. Desperately poor people take…
It’s National Hat Day, had you heard? Feels like a good excuse to pull together photos of family members and their fancy chapeaux from over the past 100 years. This first picture is of my great-grandfather Patrick Cassidy. He was a police officer, first in Belfast and then in New Haven, Connecticut. This photo is from around 1915. Here’s one of Patrick’s sons, Christy, looking snazzy: Another of Patrick’s four sons, Frank, was also a policeman. And my grandpa. Hopping…
“The Spirit of ’76.” That was the name of my high school graduation class. Yes, 1976 was a long time ago, but I remember it well. We all went a little nuts celebrating our nation’s bicentennial. By the end of 1976, the uber-patriotism fatigue was real. We were all more than a bit relieved when the calendar moved on to ’77. For two entire years, we gathered ’round “the tube” each night to catch that evening’s Bicentennial Minute. The pre-cursor…
How to get into the Christmas spirit following 10 months of a pandemic threatening nearly every tradition? With Christmas books. Week 1: The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon It had never occurred to me that it’s someone’s job to secure the “perfect” tree for Rockefeller Center each year. This is the story of that man, and his redemption as he finds both the tree and patience to wait for it as he befriends a nun who lives at the convent…
Cameron and his great-grandfather have bonded deeply. Over Looney Tunes. During the eight years of Cameron’s life, there have been a few visits to Connecticut, some Facetime chats, and loads of phone calls. But Bugs was a game changer. In researching a bit, I’ve come to realize that Dad and Looney Tunes were born the same year (1930). It was, apparently, meant to be. Despite hours of viewing (Gary gets in on the act, too) and many discussions, it is…