SoNice of you
I was at a public event not long ago at which the size of the audience had outgrown the number of chairs available. I had gotten there early, and was occupying a chair. Among those standing up were a number of women. So I faced a dilemma. Do I follow the tradtional etiquette rule, and […]
Reflections on the loss of the Bulls
I searched high and low last week at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, to speak to Danny Cleary. He had skated in the warmup for the Red Wings, but did not dress for the game. After the game, I strolled out to my car. I noticed a very distinguished- looking gentleman near the parking […]
Not on the bucket list
The term “bucket list” has wormed its way into our vocabulary. We’ve had the 2007 movie featuring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, and a surge in the sales of a new category of books with titles like 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List. The way I see it—and call me […]
When push comes to shove
Bullies. Like most of you, I’ve been the victim and I’ve been the aggressor. When I was a kid, bullying most often happened in the school yard or on the playground. If you complained to a grownup about it, you were called a tattletale and told, “life ain’t easy” or to “suck it up, buttercup” […]
Winter woods
The restless moon shifts again and again, and the land shifts with it. Then, a dawning in my head: as the earth begins to warm, one thing about winter that I’ll miss—trust me, the list is short—is the mood of the woods in winter. Chickadee-dee-dee! The late afternoon sun lights up the naked forest; skeletal […]
The old ball game
About a week ago, I received a phone call from Michael Murray, a Picton resident and recent transplant from Ottawa. He wondered whether I would like to accompany him to a Spring training game in Fort Myers. He did not have to ask twice. We had met at a Florida Everblades game and discovered we […]
Sensual persuasion
We eat to survive. On special occasions, we may treat ourselves to a home-cooked dinner or shared dining experience with a loved one or with friends. Eating provides us tactile feedback—from the presentation on the plate, to the aromas in the air, to the taste on the palate. We respond in a fundamental, basic way […]
Keeping the D.L. waiting
I used to play the darn thing because I was addicted to it. Sudoku, that is; the number puzzle, a form of which appears in the Times every week in the Diversions section. It appears today on this page. You could have heard, for example, how I arranged a personal audience with, but then stood […]
Magically delicious
I am appalled by the cost of real, fresh food. Is it any wonder folks who are living close to the edge are surviving on a diet of frozen pizzas, boxed macaroni dinners, chicken nuggets, frozen French fries, crappy cereals and fruit-like drinks? Those foods tend to be much less expensive but often have little […]
Who wants to go in net?
A little more than a month ago, I was privileged to sit at a dinner table on the ground floor of the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers. The room is a bit of a hangout for hockey folk before the puck drops. I had entered with Nick Polano, a veteran […]