Author Archives: kihm
Charles Dickens in New York
Famed English author Charles Dickens was a nineteenth century rock star, packing houses everywhere he went, reading aloud from his works to adoring audiences. Such tours were Dickens’ only way to make money in the United States as publishers here pirated his work, paid him no royalties, and there was no law with which he […]
Gus Stories
:: My Granddog :: June 1, 2003 While Abbie was on medical leave from college, languishing in Ohio with mono and a side order of other debilitating ailments, she felt a puppy would be the perfect tonic, something small, cute and therapeutic. And so, when she came home to Skaneateles, she was accompanied by Gus. […]
Labs
I was walking to work two weeks ago when a large golden lab came up from a side street and challenged me with a “Woof!” I said, “Hey, Bud,” and he pressed his face against my leg so I could scratch behind his ears. His eyes closed, his tail swayed, and I got a lot […]
Clete Stories
:: How Smart I Am :: It was Clete, my first dog, who revealed just how smart I am. It was back in the early 1970’s. I was living in a one-room apartment where the bed was tucked into an alcove, and I had made it very clear to Clete that he was not allowed […]
Stories from Dr. M.
I am going to have to start telling Dr. M. stories. I cannot tell you the good doctor’s full name, nor where I knew him, but please trust me on this one. There was a time in my life when I knew a veterinarian, and all of his stories are true, and I cannot keep […]
Death Pools in History
“The game had no name and is probably as old as creation itself.” — Jean Shepherd, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash (1966) You need three things for a death pool: 1) celebrities, 2) news media, and 3) people who differ in their opinions. Even if we insist that celebrities and media require […]
The Cemetery Letter
One day my lifetime-so-far Social Security Statement arrived, “Prepared especially for Kihm Winship.” Which is easy to believe because no one else would want it. Laurie said, “Isn’t this funny?” I look at the earnings for my first year out of college: $1,659. My laughter is hollow. But farther up the column I can smile […]
A Bus Ride with Virginia Woolf
July 9, 1998 Yesterday, I was the only person in the Syracuse bus station reading Virginia Woolf’s The Waves. I’ve been trying to finish it for 20 years, but it’s so beautifully written that I stop to marvel at sentences, read them aloud to whoever will listen, drift off in my own reveries inspired by […]
The Beers of Martin Luther
The agricultural revolution and the domestication of cereal grains occurred around 6000 BC. Between 3000 and 2000 BC in Mesopotamia, malting and fermentation were understood and practiced. Barley and wheat were common, and 40% of all cereal grain was used for brewing. Knowledge of brewing spread to Babylon and Egypt, and by a northward route […]
H.L. Mencken, Homebrewer
“No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” You have undoubtedly heard that phrase before, perhaps in a discussion of politics, television or light beer. It comes to us from Henry Louis Mencken, and alone would have been enough to earn him a place in our collective memory. But he gave […]
Faithful Readers 