Category Archives: Uncategorized

Many of you recall reading about the ship, Amistad. In 1839, in violation of all treaties then in existence, Portuguese slavers abducted a group of Africans from Sierra Leone and set sail for Cuba. Some of these captives rebelled, seized the ship, and ordered the crew to return to Africa. Instead of sailing West, theContinue reading “IN APPRECIATION OF AMISTAD”

I’m thankful for the people who read my last post (“Non Sequiturs,”) and told me it gave them some laughs. I had fun writing it. God knows we’ve all needed to read, hear, or watch something humorous recently. It would be easy for me to compose a similar essay because after writing that last one,Continue reading ““…WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR…””

And now … the latest dispatch from the land of divided attention, a rather crowded place filled with twenty-four-hour news cycles and two-minute reports from the trenches in Ukraine. I need a break from world events, so please excuse me if I leave the latest headlines and travel to the mundane. First, welcome back, E-TradeContinue reading “NON SEQUITORS”

Not much, as it turns out. Cautious respect for the transmissibility of the Omicron version of Covid-19-20-21-22 continues to keep me close to home. There’s always something to do here, but I miss being able to go to stores, the movies, museums, and restaurants. Not having those activities to define the days, I’ve found myselfContinue reading “WHAT’S NEW?”

Hello! Hello! Hello! HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR READERS! For those of you who sent me a New Year’s greeting and asked where I’d planned to spend New Year’s Eve, here’s my brief response. My significant other and I had a delightful evening chez nous. Our dinner was catered by Bertucci’s Restaurant and delivered by Grubhub.Continue reading “THE MORNING AFTER…*”

Saturday, December 11th has begun with a fine mist covering the ground. Water droplets cling to the red fruits of the winterberry holly bush outside of my home office window. Once in a while a blue and white Amazon van or brown and gold UPS truck whizzes by, interrupting the stillness. The post-Thanksgiving spike inContinue reading “HOLIDAY THOUGHTS”

Dear Toni, May I call you by your first name? I know it’s really “Chloe,” but I’m most familiar with “Toni.” For years you were my writing instructor, standing behind me and occasionally nodding your approval after reading a sentence or a word combination almost worthy of your skills. You were the magician who practicedContinue reading “A LOVE LETTER TO T.M.”

Recently a former Facebook employee blew a whistle too loud to be ignored. She provided evidence linking the Instagram platform to the emotional troubles suffered by many of its teenage subscribers. Further, she asserted that Facebook was guilty of facilitating the spread of untruths that gave rise to the seditious acts we observed this pastContinue reading “FACING FACEBOOK”

Last week I watched and listened to a lecture about Agatha Christie. During the weekend I read a New York Times article about the author, Gayl Jones.* I thank Zoom and the New York Adventure Club for steering me to the Agatha Christie presentation, and I’m grateful to my sister Stephanie for sending me theContinue reading “SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A WATERFALL AND A TRICKLE”

“The world is too much with us; late and soon…” Amen, Mr. Wordsworth! But if you thought your world was “too much with [you,]” consider this deck of cards: A Pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Americans refusing to be vaccinated as the Pandemic’s variant is in full bloom, an earthquake in the Western Hemisphere’s mostContinue reading “PROPS TO WILLIAM WORDSWORTH”