I didn’t expect to be defending Sarah Palin, but here goes. It wasn’t long after Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, Ariz., before speculation started flying that the shooter was motivated by hatred of liberals, Democrats and the government in general, and possibly fed by the over-the-top and sometimes violent rhetoric we have heard all too...
Speaking Of The Rolling Stones…
A friend of a friend posted this on Facebook, and I just had to pass it along. At various times, I have tried listing my All-Time-Top-Five-Favorite-Songs (try it sometime; it’s a lot harder than you think), and I usually come up with two Rolling Stones songs—Sympathy for the Devil and Gimme Shelter—in that list,...
Lyrics In Exile
One of my favorite lines from a music review comes from way back in 1977, after Linda Ronstadt released the Simple Dreams album. About her version of the Rolling Stones’ song Tumbling Dice, the reviewer wrote something to the effect that “the lyrics meant so much more when when we couldn’t understand them.” I’ve...
Due Date
We visited Santa Fe, N.M. in October 2009, a rare fall vacation and our first trip to the Southwest. We were shopping in the Plaza when we saw crews setting up for some kind of filming; the first activity we saw was some guys carefully building some rails for a dolly. Being from St....
It Doesn’t Get Any Better The Second Time
Twenty-five years ago tonight, Kansas City, Mo., game six of the 1985 World Series between the Cardinals and the Royals. I was at home watching on television with my friends Kurt and Sue — my parents were out of town at the Lake of the Ozarks. It was looking good for the Cards, leading...
(Avoiding) The Road To Provincetown
To drive to Provincetown, you take Highway 6 out to near the end of Cape Cod, and then cut over to a beachside road for the final approach. The road takes you over a rise, and then suddenly the town appears laid out in front of you, curving off to the left. It’s a...
A New Look
Discerning readers will notice that this blog has a new look, and a new name, today. I want to again thank Joe S. for his design work and help in creating the old look, but I felt it was time to move on to something a little quieter, at least for now. Undoubtedly, this...
Marathon Dreams
There are three iconic big-city marathons in the United States: New York, Chicago and, of course, Boston. Chicago is annually one of the biggest marathons in the world, with something like 40,000-45,000 runners a year on its flat, fast course. World records have been set there in recent years. The New York City...
9/11
On September 11, 2001, I was hunkering down for work on a special issue of our magazine, when I got an e-mail from Bill, our New Orleans reporter. He mentioned almost off-handedly that one story he was working on might be in jeopardy because the company’s headquarters were at the World Trade Center in...
My Friday Treat
This is my regular Friday treat to myself. It’s just a couple of blocks from my office to Jimmy John’s, and with their typically speedy service I can usually get over there and back — and buy weekend lottery tickets on the way — in 15 minutes or so. Every good sandwich starts with...