My parents met in 1953 at the Garden House Hotel in Hurleyville, NY, where they were both employed for the summer. My father was a program director/performer in charge of entertainment. My mom, who’d done everything she could to get out of spending the whole summer in the Catskills away from her friends in the…
Happy National Holiday
Happy Diatomaceous Earth Day! No, really. Friday, August 30th, is National Diatomaceous Earth Day. It’s also National Trail Mix Day and National Toasted Marshmallow Day. Despite this, I bet you still had to go to work today. That may be because none of the holidays I mentioned are federal holidays. There are eleven federal holidays…
Probability of Winning
My brother talked me into joining his fantasy football league last year. “You’re ready,” he said. “And you’ll love it.” On the face of it, those are funny statements. Up until maybe ten years ago, I knew nothing about football. Other than the marching band, nothing anyone did on that field made any sense to…
Grave Matters
Once upon a time, people stayed put. They lived and died in roughly the same geographical area in which they’d been born. It made sense to bury them there as well, where family and friends who’d celebrated and mourned with the individual during his or her lifetime could stop by the cemetery on holidays and…
Thorne Smith and the American Ghost
How do you prefer your ghosts? Do you like them spooky and atmospheric? Maybe you fancy something gothic, laced with fear and darkness. Perhaps you’re more the romantic type, savoring a good tale where the supernatural explores the human psyche. If any of those descriptions float your boat, I’ll direct you to Washington Irving, Edgar…
Metanoia
A blinding light from the heavens, a booming disembodied voice, and the man falls to the ground. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” the voice demands, and the man is forever changed. This is the conversion story of St. Paul, a man who spent his existence persecuting Christians until a supernatural experience on the…
Wrote the Book, Hated the Movie
“I cried when I saw it. I said, ‘oh, God, what have they done?” “I was deeply disappointed.” It’s “crummy.” Ouch. Hardly the responses movie directors want after a screening. Worse, these comments didn’t come from random viewers, but from the authors of the books on which each film was based. (Which author said which…
