My alumni news magazine reported recently that two classmates from my undergraduate days had died. They were my age, naturally, so I was brought up short. 75 is a respectable age for dying. Most of life’s experiences have been sampled: a career, marriage, family and friends. Still
JUST AN ORDINARY DAY Sunday, I decided to take a stroll to one of the local used bookstores in my area. It’s a 50 minute walk round trip and as the previous few days had brought nothing but rain, this warm, Sunday afternoon came as a relief. The washed blossoms of the plum tre
On a warm afternoon, not long ago, I found myself near an Indian restaurant where the air was perfumed with exotic aromas. I love Indian dishes but as few of my friends do, I often find myself eating alone. Lunch on that day was no exception. After ordering a curry, I waited for m
For me, the “S” in Sunday stands for sloth; so after a breakfast of bananas and oatmeal, I remained in my fleecy robe and crossed into the living room to read. On the opposite wall, the computer screen glared accusingly. “Shouldn’t you be writing?” it seem
In the investment world, corporations are described as vertical or horizontal entities. A vertical business is one that deals with a narrow range of products, like a tire company or cheese factory. A horizontal business is one that engages in numerous ventures. General Electric is a t
SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY It doesn’t take much to make me feel insecure. If I watch a BBC mystery and don’t understand the killer’s motive, I feel inadequate. If someone tells a joke and everybody laughs but me, I feel lost. Sometimes I don’t even get the quips that appear on Fac
THE MORAL IMPLICATION OF A SMILE Recently I read two commentaries in a magazine that, together, left me feeling as though I’d been dumped on by a load of bricks. The first, excerpted from the “Wall Street Journal,” was about an ailing doctor and why, like others in his p
NOT ON THE STREET WHERE I LIVE Unlike Victorian children who were expected to be seen and not heard, American children, according to writer Daphne Merkin, have been protected and indulged to the point where they have a sense of entitlement. How, she wonders, will these little inhabita
FACING A DILEMMA As today marks the beginning of the third year of this blog, I am faced with a dilemma. In the past, my goals were simply defined: Reflect on the life of a writer, even a small potatoes one like me. Make connections between writing, literature and world events. Addres