Suprise Me

I remember sitting, almost in disbelief, listening to our favorite songs while watching Simon and Garfunkel who, truth be told, seemed a bit geeky like we were. Read More

My brother Larry is a real jerk, but he has really good manners. Whenever he spends time at a friend’s house, his friend’s mother calls to tell our mother how polite he is, and she has to announce it to the whole family. Personally, I think he’s just like Eddie Haskell. Last night on Leave… Read More

“Let your beard grow for 30 days. And quietly remind yourself That you are a son in mourning for your mother." Read More

Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento is most notable for the Dixieland Jazz Jubilee, which has occurred every year since 1974. It is an amazing four days of music and fun, with bands from all over the country and the world who make the pilgrimage to northern California to play traditional jazz. I didn’t discover it until… Read More

I hope the preschoolers we taught remember that charity begins in our hearts and in the way we treat one another. Read More

"The Cops are coming, the cops are coming" - what were the conditions in the late 60's that inspired the take over and occupation of Harvard University's administration building? Read More

Does everyone want to lose weight in the new year? My resolution began after seeing photos of myself from our first trip to Italy in 2011. I had never been so heavy. I looked puffy and not like myself. I didn’t want to turn 60 on December 10, 2012 looking like that. I had never… Read More

And the winner is: My aunt Ruth!  I’ve written about my Aunt Ruth and her buttons here and in my book. She inspired me to start my own collection when I was a teenager. I kept them in a small box inside my grandparents’ secretary desk. On more than one occasion, I talked to my… Read More

Ulysses  Please don’t think I’m an insufferable literary snob if I tell you I’ve read Ulysses several times.   But in fact I have,  and I think it’s indeed a masterpiece,  and not at all as hard to read and understand as you may have been led to believe.  (See My Love Affair with James Joyce)… Read More

I often kid people that I was "gluten-free and paleo" before those concepts existed. Read More