Monday, May 21, 2012

There won’t be a big red heart that says “Mother” or “Sweetheart,” no coiled
cobra or barbed wire encircling my bicep.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I’m sure you’ve never done this, but some people take their pooch for a walk and — when he answers the call of nature in a substantial way — they glance around furtively and then just slink off without scooping up the residue.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Understand that if you’re reading this today, you’re part of a minority group.

Monday, April 23, 2012

One of the fascinating things about enclaves like the Stockade, Georgetown, the Washington Park area in Troy — or any neighborhood where the row houses are crammed together so tightly that alley cats have to slip through sideways — is that the back yards are such a well-kept mystery.

Monday, April 9, 2012

The secular observance of Easter is always an upbeat occasion for me, and it’s especially so now that there are scads of little grandchildren underfoot.

Monday, March 26, 2012

My neighbors’ kids might not take ballet or violin lessons or spend summers in enrichment programs, but that doesn’t mean they’re abused or malnourished or that their parents are neglectful.

Monday, March 12, 2012

There does always seem to be a storm brewing in the Stockade, which in many ways, some good, is like a village unto itself, separate from the rest of Schenectady.

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012

“A Moment in the Sun” is set in the late 1800s, a period in America marked by jingoism, war-mongering yellow journalism and racial violence.

Monday, Feb. 27, 2012

This comes as no surprise to me. During the past year I’ve quit smoking and I’ve gotten married. They’re not related events except that both are known for causing weight gain. When the two events collide, you can resign yourself to shopping for bigger pants.

Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

Last week, we returned from seven days in the Caribbean aboard the ms Westerdam for the 2012 Jazz Cruise.