Okay, as I write this, I am home for the sixth week. Each day seems a little easier. I like my condo. I love my cat (although I miss my Elderlee, who died in December). I eat when I want to, which seems to be more likely twice a day. I wake up and feed the cat around 7:30, watch MSNBC for an hour (why is it that I seem to like Mika and Joe more than I used to?) Then I … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Peek in the Pantry, You Likely Have all the Ingredients for Tasty Trail Mix Cookies!
Columnists
Reading Uncertainly? “The Cockroach” by Ian McEwan
Cockroaches have successfully inhabited this earth for more than 300 million years and are like to continue to do so for millions more, so long as it exists. But what about their working relationship with Homo sapiens, we relative newcomers? Ian McEwan, one of my favorite authors, suggests in this political satire that they may well take matters into their own hands (six each) … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? “The Cockroach” by Ian McEwan
Legal News You Can Use: I Filed For Workers’ Comp: Can I Get Fired?
If you suffer an injury on the job in Connecticut, the law protects you when you file a workers’ compensation claim. However, some employers may try to find ways around these anti-discriminatory laws. Your employer is not going to tell you they are terminating you because you filed a workers’ compensation claim. Most employers know it is illegal. Instead, an … [Read more...] about Legal News You Can Use: I Filed For Workers’ Comp: Can I Get Fired?
Senior Moments: Thoughts (all Positive) on Turning 91
Editor's Note: I first met John Guy LaPlante when we both worked at the now sadly departed 'Main Street News.' I was a beat reporter covering Westbrook and he was busy writing columns about his most recent adventure, which happened to have been going round the world! We went our separate ways after the newspaper closed but stayed in touch. He followed up that first amazing … [Read more...] about Senior Moments: Thoughts (all Positive) on Turning 91
Talking Transportation: What is Connecticut’s Transportation Future Post-COVID?
When it comes to transportation, Joe McGee is often the smartest guy in the room. If I want a vision of our state’s mobility future, he’s the first man I turn to. McGee served as then Gov. Lowell Weicker’s Commissioner of Economic Development. For years I worked with him on the Connecticut Metro-North Rail Commuter Council. And until recently he was the Fairfield Business … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: What is Connecticut’s Transportation Future Post-COVID?
A la Carte: Asparagus & Tomato Frittata Tempts the (Locked-Down) Tastebuds
Since this shelter-in-place began in March, I have been frantic about getting tested. I knew it might not do much good, but without being tested, there was no yardstick to find out how many people might be sick. Our illustrious president, at the beginning of his press briefings, said anyone who wanted to be tested would be. Of course, he was lying. But a couple of weeks ago, … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Asparagus & Tomato Frittata Tempts the (Locked-Down) Tastebuds
Op-Ed: TV News? Turn it Off
I can’t watch TV news anymore. I used to be a news junkie, a control freak who thought that by knowing everything that was going on everywhere in the world I could somehow control it. Hah! Was that ever a naïve view. Having worked in local and network newsrooms, what was coming over the AP and UPI newswires was like heroin for my news habit. I used to read two or three … [Read more...] about Op-Ed: TV News? Turn it Off
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Varina’ by Charles Frazier
Slip back some 120 years and reconsider our Civil War through the eyes and mind of the wife of Jefferson Davis, Varina. This is Charles Frazier’s latest gripping and, often hilarious, novel. Married to the much older man at 18, she gives us a stimulation of memories of her life with the Confederate President first in Richmond, then an escape attempt to Cuba by way of Florida … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Varina’ by Charles Frazier
A View from My Porch: The Rising Waters of Long Island Sound — A Primer on Global Warming and Climate Change, Postscript Now Added
POSTSCRIPT ADDED 04/14: Our home is on a salt marsh alongside a small, tidal river. Over the past several years, we have observed gradual changes in the breadth and height of high tide. Eventually, the borders of our yard directly adjacent to the river were covered with brackish water at high tide to about 25 ft. beyond the riverbank. This occurs regardless of moon phase or the … [Read more...] about A View from My Porch: The Rising Waters of Long Island Sound — A Primer on Global Warming and Climate Change, Postscript Now Added
A la Carte: Something Special for Easter? How About Sweet Honey Chicken with a Hint of Curry?
Well, it has been an interesting two weeks. I spend quite a time on Facebook with friends and family. My family seems fine. My brother and I do not talk often. This has little to do with the fact that we are not close. I like him and he likes me, but eight years is a big number. He went to college when I was nine and, except for vacations, he never really came back to Troy. … [Read more...] about A la Carte: Something Special for Easter? How About Sweet Honey Chicken with a Hint of Curry?
Reading Uncertainly? ‘Life Undercover’ by Amaryllis Fox
A lyrical memoir of an unusual woman’s life, in Washington, London, Moscow, London and finally Washington again, minus her father. Then on to the CIA, described in amazing detail, and her life afterwards as an agent around the world. Fox’s language is engaging, plus her almost-total recall of conversations. A compelling read, but it raises two questions: (1) How was she able … [Read more...] about Reading Uncertainly? ‘Life Undercover’ by Amaryllis Fox
Talking Transportation: Memoirs of a Metro-North Conductor
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to work for the railroad? That’s what Paul Holland did for 39 years, first with Amtrak, later with Conrail and finally as a conductor on Metro-North. His self-published “My Life As A Rear End” pays tribute to his time in cabooses, but it’s his commuter rail stories that kept me laughing. Like the colorful crowd from the … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Memoirs of a Metro-North Conductor
A View from My Porch: Keep Calm and Carry On
The title of this essay is derived from a poster designed by the British government in the late 1930s to maintain morale when war against Germany became imminent. This essay roughly considers “a day in the life” of Southeastern Connecticut residents as the COVID-19 pandemic impacts each of us and our collective ability to “carry on” our lives as usual. I will present the key … [Read more...] about A View from My Porch: Keep Calm and Carry On
A la Carte: In This Time of Crisis, We All Need (American Indian) Soup for the Soul
As I write this column, I am using Tylenol to tamp down my fever that spiked to 100.4 last night. I wanted to stay in bed this morning, but Junie, my only cat, had another idea. So I got up, fed her, changed her water dish, added water and ice cubes to my own water bottle, and made tea. I feel much better now. I am quite sure what I have is just a little bug—no sore throat, no … [Read more...] about A la Carte: In This Time of Crisis, We All Need (American Indian) Soup for the Soul
A View from My Porch: Who’s Played Sherlock? Who Did it Best?
Although more than a century and a quarter has passed since publication of Arthur Conan Doyle’s first story, Sherlock Holmes continues to inspire novels, movies, TV, and the stage. I will review some of the actors who played Holmes in this concluding essay in my Holmes duology; and assess how true each was to Conan Doyle’s artistic vision. Where possible, I’ll contrast each … [Read more...] about A View from My Porch: Who’s Played Sherlock? Who Did it Best?