Hey, Look
Inspired by Simon Rich’s recent Shouts & Murmurs and Heather’s response, here’s what I imagined the people around me were…
“Are You a Journalist?”
A story that can now be told. I was in a movie theater a few weeks ago. In the dim…
Eventually We Become What They Want Us to Be
A scene from dinner at the retirement home. “Are you from around here?” “No, we’re from California.” “Oh, it’s expensive…
In Praise of the Inappropriate
There’s an art to saying the wrong thing at the right time. And the older I get, the more I think there’s a gene that causes it. If there is, I know this: it’s passed on the mother’s side.
My maternal grandmother, Gert, was a master of the art of the inappropriate comment. With me, a cherished grandson, she was a sweetheart. With my mom, she was … less sweet.
The Kid Always Gets the Last Word
My nephew Hugh is two years old. And, as the husband of the sister of his mother, it is my…