Suprise Me

Growing up in a neighborhood in Detroit full of kids, Halloween was a big deal. My dad would carve the pumpkin in the scrub sink in the basement. We also lived a few blocks from two large cemeteries, so it really was spooky. We ran in packs from house to house, holding our breath. Houses… Read More

A Glass Menagerie from The Five and Dime When I was a kid there were two stores In my Bronx neighborhood we called the “five-and-dimes”.  One was Woolworth which of course was a national chain,  and the other was Fishers which I think was just a local store.  Yet to my child’s sensibility they were… Read More

As you can see from the movie poster above, the name of the movie I am writing about is Knock Down the House, but I kept thinking that the 1983 song by the Talking Heads, Burning Down the House, would have made a better title. Maybe the filmmakers wanted to call it that, but the… Read More

If it’s not good for you, use moderation; if it is, run with it. Read More

The Brandeis Theatre Department hired a new scenic painter in 1973. In addition to painting all the backdrops, he also taught a life drawing course and advertised for models. I had done a little modeling during my time at Brandeis, but nothing note-worthy. This was a real class, taught by a master, so I signed… Read More

Doctors and patients: the body politic. Read More

The last person to know me from moment one was reaching the end. What did she want to hear from me? What did I want to say to her? Read More

I have never personally experienced road rage. I tend to steer clear of drivers who seem to be in too much of a hurry, or are weaving in and out of traffic. I give them wide berth and get away as quickly as I can. Therefore, I will tell two stories from friends during my… Read More

Then, the ecstatic carnival of scientific exploration halted. But why? Read More

I didn't have a lot of friends in middle school, so I might have run out of friends to target for passing the letters along. Read More