In December 1941, a few days after the United States declared war, Winston Churchill secretly boarded a British battleship, which made a dangerous 10-day journey to the United States. The journey was so secret that Eleanor Roosevelt later wrote that while President Franklin Roosevelt told her “that we would be having some guests visit us,” […]
Winston Churchill and the Power of Hope Read More »
“Have you gotten to the part where Beth dies?” my wife innocently asked her younger sister, who, many years ago, was eagerly reading “Little Women.” Her sister, of course, hadn’t and the knowledge of what was coming detracted (to say the least) from her experience of the book. To be clear, my wife didn’t do
Harry Potter Meets the Little Women Read More »
In 1969, my father took me to Shea Stadium to see the third (and final) playoff game between my beloved New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. At some point in the game, the Braves, who were losing, brought in Cecil Upshaw, a forgettable relief pitcher with an unforgettable name. Although Upshaw didn’t give up
Cecil Upshaw, Wendall Downdraft and Washington Irving Read More »
“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story ,” is a saying falsely attributed to Mark Twain that I’ve often jokingly quoted in my work as a reporter and editor. The advice Twain didn’t offer came to mind as I considered what to write about today’s #stampoftheday, a 1-cent stamp issued
Robert Livington Is Not the Namesake of Livington, New Jersey Read More »
Here’s a pop quiz for a rainy Thanksgiving morning: how many Catholics have received a major-party nomination for president? The question is inspired by the subject of today’s #stampoftheday, a 1945 stamp, issued on November 26, 1945, honoring Al Smith, the “happy warrior” who was the Democratic nominee in 1928 when Herbert Hoover won the
Al Smith’s Little, Nameless, Unremembered Acts of Kindness Read More »
Seemingly odd juxtapositions of wealth and poverty as well as power and powerlessness are offered by the two stamps that collectively are today’s #stampoftheday. While there is much truth to those contrasts, it also turns out that the stamps, which also are separated by more than three decades, are more connected than they appear. On
Sweetness and Light and Andrew Carnegie Read More »
Another day, another obscure 19th century president. But, thankfully, Zachary Taylor, who may have died from eating too many cherries, was born on November 24, 1784 (thankfully, because I couldn’t find another stamp in my late father’s collection that is plausibly connected to today). Taylor, who served for only 16 months before unexpectedly dying in
Did President Zachary Taylor Die from Eating Too Many Cherries? Read More »
As the nation lurches towards a presidential transition, it seems oddly appropriate that today’s #stampoftheday pictures a one-term, 19th century president, who, one of his obituaries contended, “possessed…none of the attributes of greatness.” The president in question is Franklin Pierce, who was born on November 23, 1804 and served for one term, from 1853 to
Franklin Pierce “Possessed None of the Attributes of Greatness” Read More »
“Roshi’s Laundromat Blues,” the last short story I wrote in the spring of 1980, had a simple premise. What if you were at a laundromat, waiting for your clothes to finish the wash cycle, when you heard that John F. Kennedy had been shot and was dead? The idea was at this emotional moment, Roshi,
Roshi Was At the Laundromat When Kennedy Was Shot Read More »
Sometime in the mid-1960s, my mother and I drove over the then-new Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which opened on November 21, 1964. As we crossed over “the Narrows,” which separate Brooklyn from Staten Island, I vaguely recall my mother telling me that the crossing was the world’s longest suspension bridge, which impressed me. And as we descended
My Mother Drove Me Over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Read More »