Category Personal
Napping
This first ran in The Syracuse New Times in March of 1978, and was thought by many to be the peak of my early career. I was writing about something I knew and loved. * * * “Hey, wanna get high?” You’ve heard that before. But it always cost you money, and you woke up […]
Moving to Skaneateles
Aug. 31 – Sept. 10, 1998 It started, I think, with a feeling of being stuck. Abbie was in a school where crowd control was the priority, and violence was frequent. My advertising job looked tenuous, and the owners spoke of retiring in five years. As I explored my options, a local competitor offered me […]
Upscale
October 14, 2003 My dentist’s office is just outside the village, about a 10 minute walk from where I work on Route 20. Much of the walk is past farmers’ fields and just plain fields. Walking along the roadside, I have the leisure and inclination to observe the birds, the foliage, the litter and the […]
Mining
June 6, 2005 I don’t enjoy mowing, and because I use a push mower, a reel mower, I have to mow often, before the grass gets too long. One rainy weekend and I’m in trouble. So I decided to cut my work in half by reframing expectations and renaming the backyard “the meadow.” I mowed […]
The Mailboat Letter
This was written before we had any clue that we might move to Skaneateles. September 5, 1996 I had the day off last Friday, and it struck us that it would be a perfect day to ride the Mail Boat on Skaneateles Lake. One of my jobs at work is to write nice things about […]
Lying
“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among breathren.” — Proverbs […]
Lucy the Goose
October 2000 Laurie was in Europe with her mother and sister, and Abbie was getting ready for bed. It was 10:30 at night, and I felt like I needed a walk. After reassuring Abbie that I was not losing my mind, I set out. On a week night, Skaneateles is one of the quietest places […]
Keeping Time
September 2000 My mother gave me my first watch when I went to Kenmore Junior High. Between classes, as I clung to the walls like a lab mouse, I continually scratched and scuffed the plastic crystal on the hall lockers. By the eighth grade, I couldn’t see the hands anymore. But every classroom had a […]
Jury Duty
May 2001 The last time I was summoned to the Onondaga County Courthouse for jury duty, I got as far as the “voir dire.” The defendant’s lawyer asked, “What newspaper do you read?” I said, “The New York Ti…” “Excused,” he said. Last month, I didn’t even get that far, and it’s probably just as […]
Jesus and Levi
March 5, 1998 What a month it has been. Jesus Christ appeared on the bus one morning, getting on at the hospital, speaking to us even before the bus doors opened and continually once he was on board. He is holding up remarkably well, appearing in this incarnation as a 60-ish male with short gray/white […]
Faithful Readers 