What the heck is with the fixation on the beauty parlor? You’d think that hairdressers…
Corona Virus Diary 26: The Numbers
How is one supposed to really grasp the number of those infected and killed by COVID19? There have been 71,401,780 cases confirmed globally, as of December 12 and 1,600,807 deaths. In the United States, 15,939,022 have fallen ill and 296, 656 have died. These are...
Covid Virus Diary 24: Christmas Letter 2020
Is everyone still there? How to recount the year’s doings when we have done largely nothing? My favorite word–one of the three Oxford Languages chose for Word Of The Year–is “Blursday.” It perfectly describes the mush that time has become. Last year and...
Corona Virus Diary 19: The Deck Chairs of Summer
The flagstone patio at Nannie’s and Pop’s home in Hingham underlay the most wonderful wrought-iron furniture. The wheeled back legs of the chaises-longues allowed us to shift these monstrously heavy things relatively easily. Thick cushions in a floral fabric provided...
Corona Virus Diary 16: Shards in the Eye, Ice in the Heart
One of my favorite books when I was a child—one of my cherished books still—is a collection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen. “The Snow Queen: A Tale in Seven Stories” was one of the most ghoulish and frightening, and one of my favorites. A Fairy-Tale Pandemic A...