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Blogging for free
Matthew Yglesias tells us that if you have something to say, say it. But don’t expect to get paid for it. He started out in college blogging for nothing, then eventually landed paying jobs, the latest...
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Just call me ‘Grandpa’
This past weekend I became a grandfather for the first time. His name is Nicholas, and he’s gorgeous. See for yourself. Filed under: Personal
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The perils of PayPal [update]
My wife and I bought a piece of furniture in December that we’ve found to be particularly uncomfortable, as in dangerous to our health if we sit in it for too long a stretch. We paid a handsome price,...
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Goodbye, Mr. Winters
The scene is a high school library. It’s early morning and yours truly is holding court at one table, surrounded by classmates. While it’s supposed to be quiet, the author is talking, and when he talks...
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The living-downtown experiment
I was born and raised in the suburbs. That’s all I knew until a half-dozen years ago, when my wife and I (though mostly me) decided to take up residence in beautiful downtown Everett, a smallish burg...
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Spanish wine
I am hardly an enophile, although I generally enjoy the product of fermented grapes. I usually stick with known vintners and varieties. However, I recently took the bait from the local wine shop. It...
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If only…
Walk or run? I used to do the former but am now confined to the latter. As it happens, my prior running days may have had much to do with a thinner self, as this article suggests. Now—with the advance...
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An elder’s personal story
Watching the interview with singer Patty Griffin about her newest album, American Kid, I concluded that I’ve been remiss in my duty toward history. I’ll explain. Ms. Griffin gave some thought to the...
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I was begot
In this second installment of an elder’s story (the first is here), I’ll talk a bit about my father, who passed away from cancer in 1998 at the age of 76. Were it not for this dreaded disease I’m...
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Stripes
In this third installment of an elder’s story (second one here), I’ll mention briefly my parent’s obsession with stripes. A series of photographs of me, beginning at an early age and running through...
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Grampa
I never pronounced the word properly, Grandpa, that is. Too lazy, I guess. But whatever I called him, he was my intellectual mentor, albeit unwittingly—or at least so I’m told. It’s not as if he...
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“Champ”
I should have mentioned that my grandfather’s nickname for me was “champ.” That delighted yours truly but forced my sisters into counseling. It didn’t help that my grandparents bought me an A2000...
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Spatial
We sometimes hear the expression, “She’s spatial.” This can be viewed as a good thing, but, on occasion, the adjective can disparage, since we place so much emphasis on “quantitative skills,” the kind...
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Chemex coffee snobbery
My grandmother used a Chemex to make her coffee, which she ground from beans purchased at the local grocery store. The white filters she used were carefully folded by her, then often re-used. As I...
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26 years ago
Yesterday marked the 26th anniversary of my sister Nancy’s death. Cancer finally beat her, after two and a half years of treatments, surgeries, and a series of unrecoverable setbacks. She was only 39....
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Veteran brothers
My dad and two uncles. Uncle JB, Uncle Gene, and my dadFiled under: Military, Personal, War
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America sucks—a qualification
In a previous post I suggested that America sucks. I should explain. First off, America is a country or nation or geographical location. The term ‘America’ is often used to describe the sum total of...
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When I was 17
Fifty years ago today I was seated in my high school German class when a student from “the office” entered the room, beckoning Herr Boyden. Upon receiving the message, Mr. Boyden then turned solemnly...
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Being apolitical
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. — John Stuart Mill Is it in my genes? My grandfather was heavily involved in politics from the left,...
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Elderly signs
The mirror gives clues, which my ego chooses to ignore. The face is noticeably rounder, the hair almost completely gray—what’s left of it. My teeth evince regular visits with coffee. Moreover, my neck...
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