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Best of times, worst of times
Amid the West's travails with COVID-19, a not-so-little detail is often passed over. Almost miraculously, the pandemic hasn't found much of a home in [...]
La mangione
Not so long ago I was feeding my daughter Julia bites of sweet potato fries at dinner. Suddenly, though, she stopped eating — not [...]
You can’t go home again
As a boy, my Sicilian ophthalmologist was for a long time addicted to American dog shows. He avidly watched "Rin Tin Tin" and "Lassie," [...]
The good, the bad, and (horrors), the correct
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his [...]
God’s little jokes
Every night before drifting off to sleep I say a little prayer to god (God, if you prefer), in whom I officially do not [...]
Signs of civilization
As a former educator, one of the things I remember best, and perhaps even miss a bit, is the tendency of students to ask [...]
Apres mois, les avocats
Power of attorney is granted by one person to an anointed surrogate in the event the figure charged with decision-making is, for whatever reason, [...]
To the house Dalí built
Two and a half hours north of Barcelona, along the rugged Costa Brava, is an exquisite jewel of a fishing village that I am [...]
COVID, meet SCABET
I was always a fan of apocalypse movies. Not the kind that overwhelms you with monsters and aliens, and special effects to die for [...]
What’s New
God’s little jokes
Every night before drifting off to sleep I say a little prayer to god (God, if you prefer), in whom [...]
Signs of civilization
As a former educator, one of the things I remember best, and perhaps even miss a bit, is the tendency [...]
Over the edge
To believe the world was flat conferred wonderful advantages to any boy who would not budge from this belief. At [...]
Apres mois, les avocats
Power of attorney is granted by one person to an anointed surrogate in the event the figure charged with decision-making [...]
To the house Dalí built
Two and a half hours north of Barcelona, along the rugged Costa Brava, is an exquisite jewel of a fishing [...]
COVID, meet SCABET
I was always a fan of apocalypse movies. Not the kind that overwhelms you with monsters and aliens, and special [...]
James Baldwin saved my life
Some things leave a mark. This school year did. Its awkward summer break came after a (pointless) return to school [...]
Litte Miss Warming
My daughter Rebecca has turned down CNN and Fox. She will not be their COVID puppet. Not that they asked, [...]
Turn, turn, turn
It was a few days ago that I noticed it in the garden. Welcomed by the sun's heat, flashes of [...]
And the rabbi came
Toward the end of June 1990, I drove to the top of the Serra di Spigolizzi, in Salento, to visit [...]