Four years ago today my wife, several neighbors, and I drove to the Alewife MBTA station to take a Red Line train to the Women’s March protest in downtown Boston. Although we tried to get an early start, the station’s lobby already was full of people trying to buy Charlie Cards, go through turnstiles and […]
Susan B. Anthony and the Fourth Anniversary of the Women’s March Read More »
Like many people, I cried more than once today. I cried so much, that I can’t remember everything that caused me to tear up. I cried when I watched the videos of the women who sang “Amazing Grace” and “Hallelujah” at yesterday’s memorial for those who’ve died from COVID. I choked up when I saw
My Emotional Logjam Broke on Inauguration Day Read More »
“Our long national nightmare is over,” said Gerald Ford, moments after he was sworn in as president after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. “Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule.” Tomorrow, barring an extraordinary series of events, another “national nightmare” will end. Joe
Edgar Allen Poe Celebrates the End of Our Long National Nightmare Read More »
My late brother Neil was very smart and talented. But I find it doubtful that he actually wrote a letter – in exemplary cursive handwriting, no less – to the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) in late 1955, when he was 3½ years old. And while my sister Nancy, who was born a year and
Young Neil and Nancy Ask the UN for Stamps Read More »
Today, three days before Joe Biden takes office, is a good time to take a moment to reflect on one of the more shameful episodes in American foreign policy-the overthrow of the sovereign government of Hawaii on January 17, 1893. To mark that anniversary, the #stampoftheday is a 3-cent stamp, issued in October 1937, that
Overthrowing the Queen of Hawaii Read More »
“Loom” is an often overused word. But it’s the right word to describe how I remember the Pulaski Skyway, a three-plus mile elevated road that connects Jersey City and Newark and crosses the Hackensack Meadowlands. In my memory, we often drove underneath the looming skyway and through the Meadowlands, which, were full of signs of
The Word “Looming” Was Made for the Pulaski Skyway Read More »
I grew up with many vestiges of classic Americana. I was a Boy Scout for many years and even worked for two years as a counselor at Camp Glen Grey, a Boy Scout camp in Oakland, New Jersey). I played for two years in my high school marching band. When I was in junior high
Are 4-H Clubs Real? Read More »
As the United States lurches towards the end of the Trump Administration, I’m looking forward to a time when our leaders again think about working with the leaders of other countries, particularly other democracies, to advance shared goals. Today’s #stampoftheday – a 2-cent “Nations United for Victory” stamp issued on January 14, 1943 – highlights
Nations United for Victory Read More »
I grew up singing many of Stephen Foster’s well-known songs, particularly “Oh Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” and “Old Folks at Home” (aka “Swanee River”). But I don’t remember ever thinking about (or being asked to think about) what I was singing, only that they were catchy and fun songs. But I digress and want to go
Are You Sure You Want to Hum Along with Stephen Foster? Read More »
Of necessity, we distill our stories to the simplest facts. But when we do so we sometimes remove all the things that not only make them worth telling but also obscure the lessons that might be embedded within them. Consider, for example, Joshua Humphreys (who I’m writing about because he died on January 12, 1838).
Learning from Joshua Humphrey, Who Designed the USS Constitution Read More »