Wake at 6:30. Dress in “hanging out” clothes, as Dalia calls them. Feed Nutmeg wet food and go to computer to check overnight and early morning mail. Feed her Temptations in kitchen and return to computer. Take my pills. Go to elevator to retrieve newspapers. Put sports section aside for breakfast reading but do Jumbles to get brain going. Prepare breakfast. My day – and yours – consists of a...
For days after the 9/11 attack, the newspapers were full of lists and profiles of the almost 3,000 victims in the Twin Towers. There was a certain morbid fascination that drew me to this devastating material, but it contained an interesting perspective on our grieving country. The names of the victims represented a virtual United Nations of backgrounds – people from an extraordinary array of...
“One of the most powerful, beautifully written books I’ve ever read — a transformative experience. If I were a teacher, it would be at the top of my syllabus just to see how many were changed.” I saw this message on FB, which was posted by a friend whose literary judgment I respect. She was referring to Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Even though it won the Booker Prize last year, this book by...
Before I wrap up the month commemorating the fifth anniversary of my blog, I wanted to share one more entry from its earliest days. It bears the date January 13, 2020, which I found hard to believe, as I think you will because it captures so much of the darkness of our current moment. Let me set some context. When I wrote this piece, Covid had already begun its attack on the world’s population...
Every once in a while, you catch a glimpse of yourself in a pose that makes you cringe in shame. Picture this. I am sitting in my usual blue reading chair. It faces our TV, usually tuned to some sporting event which provides a kind of background noise for my reading. Unless it involves one of my home teams, the announcer’s running commentary rarely distracts me from my reading. What’s...