There was a surprise for me on Facebook this morning: a message from Sinan in Provincetown, asking if I had any digital pictures of my brother Jim. I met Sinan through Jim, before Jim died of AIDS in 1987. Today was World AIDS Day, and Sinan wanted to post a remembrance of him in...
The Pilgrims’ Pastor
I received the following e-mail on December 23 of last year. It hit me like a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky. The e-mail was from my cousin Beth, who lives in Maryland, and who I haven’t seen in many years. She has a deep interest in genealogy, as you’ll see...
New Mexico Steam
During our trip to Santa Fe last week, we took a day trip to Abiquiu, where we had some excellent green chile cheeseburgers at Body’s, and then drove on up to the Ghost Ranch, and then further north, to Chama. The latter is a nice little town that seems to specialize in tourism, but...
The Land Of Enchantment
Maybe it’s just the intoxicated feeling caused by the lack of oxygen at 7,500 feet. Or maybe it’s the universal friendliness of the people. Maybe it’s the rich history—both human and geological—of the land. Maybe it’s the mystical undercurrent of spirituality from the region’s many Native American tribes. Whatever it is, New Mexico has...
List: My Last—And Next—Five Books
It’s been a pretty good reading year for me. Accent on the “for me. ” There have been years recently when I probably haven’t read more than four or five books the whole year. Well, I’m well past that number already for 2011, and we still have a couple of months to go, so...
The 2003 Chicago Marathon
Eight years ago this morning, I took part in the Chicago Marathon. It was my first — and so far only — attempt at the marathon. Here is my mile-by-mile account of it, written a day or so later. To set it up, this was written for the “V-Team” bulletin board, which was made...
Starved Rock
A week and a half ago, after dropping Jim off at Elmhurst College, I had the opportunity to visit Starved Rock State Park. I’d driven past the exit for the park dozens of times—it’s on the way between St. Louis and where several members of Jean’s family live in Northern Illinois—but we’ve never taken...
Who’s Next
A good portion of my summer vacation in 1971 was spent trailing my two older brothers and cousin around Brainerd, Minn., visiting every record store and head shop in hopes of finding the new album by The Who. My cousin had just seen them in concert at the Mississippi River Festival, and “obsessed” is...
Gluttony & Sloth
I set a personal record this morning. For several years now, I’ve been irregularly keeping track of my weight. When I think of it, I weigh myself. And when I think of it again, I jot down the number in a file in my gmail “drafts” folder. That file goes back more than four...
I Know Where The Google Street View Car Is
I’ve now seen the Google Street View Car twice. This picture was taken the first time, a couple of years ago. That’s me in the red shirt, with my camera backpack and, in my right hand, a sandwich from Jimmy John’s. It was almost certainly a Friday. I saw the car again a couple...