“Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” was the opening line of “ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which illustrated the agony with ski jumper falling off the side of the ski jump hill. I watched the show regularly in the late 60s […]
The Thrlll of Victory, The Agony of Defeat, and the Meaning of Sports During COVID Read More »
In 1949, my father received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union. Seventy years later, we found his lab reports and tests in the boxes of papers, photos, and ephemera that we had put in storage in 2013. To be clear: this meant that my parents had taken those papers with them on
Cooper Union Meant So Much to My Father Read More »
My childhood was filled with people who served in the Merchant Marine. I didn’t have any relatives who had served (that I know of). And while I’m sure that some of the adults I knew had served as mariners, I didn’t know about it. But others, who were important to me did serve. Popeye, for
The Merchant Mariners Who Shaped My Childhood Read More »
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the COVID lockdown, I’ve been recalling moments and events from last February and early March, a time knew about COVID but didn’t yet know just how much it was going to upend my life, the lives of everyone I know, and the lives of everyone else. Tonight, I’ve
Jose de San Martin’s Advice for Post-Pandemic Life Read More »
I remember seeing a headline about a break-in at a place called Watergate and wondering what that was about. It was June 1972; I was 15 years old; and I had taken a job selling newspapers room to room in Overlook Hospital in Summit. I was probably looking at the New York Times, which was
Does Donald Trump Measure Up to Andrew Johnson? Read More »
Drive into many towns in America and you’ll see familiar sight: a gold and blue circular sign that says, “Rotary International.” While I’ve seen these for years, I confess I don’t know much about Rotary International. I have a vague sense that Rotary’s local clubs have been a mainstay of local town life, a place
What Do Those Blue “Rotary Club” Signs Mean? Read More »
Like many people in the “before time,” I had my share of difficult airplane trips. I waited for hours in Reagan National Airport one June Friday when summer thunderstorms delayed all the flights to Boston. I once spent the better part of frustrating snowy winter day at Logan Airport trying, unsuccessfully, to get to a
Jack Knight’s Epic Airmail Flight Read More »
Although I’m 63 and not yet eligible for the COVID vaccine, I’ve been watching as people I know have started getting the vaccine. The roll-out, of course, hasn’t been handled well and even if it were, the demand is much greater than the current supply. So, like many others, I am waiting and hoping, not
Lessons About COVID From Mary Lasker and the Crusade Against Cancer Read More »
John Glenn, the first American (and third person) to orbit the earth, wasn’t my favorite astronaut in the mid 1960s. That honor belonged to the lesser known Wally Schirra, who was the fifth American and ninth person to orbit the earth. And that’s why the gerbil I accidentally killed was named Wally, not John. Glenn
John Glenn Was Most Famous But I Liked Wally Schirra Read More »
In the 1970s, when people travelled and airlines served something resembling real food, my mother decided that the silverware used by Braniff Airlines looked almost exactly like her silverware at home. So when she had a choice, she flew Braniff (which stopped flying in 1982). And when she “deplaned,” Braniff silverware from her meal and
Braniff’s Silverware and the Airline Fiasco of 1934 Read More »