A Memory Resurrected
They say that memory is a kind of treasure house, but I’ve always thought of it more as a graveyard without monuments. It’s easy to lose track of what’s buried there. Recently I was...
Category: Waypoints
The Whole World Is Medicine
Used to be that I spent a lot of time in the cafeteria of a certain Catholic hospital. It doesn’t matter which one. The circumstances of my life were more demanding in those days....
Pomegranates
The first pomegranates of the season are on display in the supermarket. The ancient Egyptians had an expression, “Eat a pomegranate and visit a bath—your youth will hasten back.” I don’t know about that,...
Moral Courage
On a long-ago summer morning, I found myself sitting on a bench in Eyre Square in the City of Galway, Ireland. Looking back on it now, I can see my youthful self as the...
Thank Your for Your Service
My friend Bill was on his way home from a big day of hiking in the mountains of California. He had a hankering for some iced tea, so he stopped at a small grocery...
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Groceries
Fourth of July, late morning. I’m standing on a long line waiting to be let into the supermarket. Plague year restrictions are in effect. There’s a limit on how many people are allowed into...
America’s Pastime
End of summer. Sad news arrives via the internet: a childhood hero—a baseball pitcher—passes away. At first, you feel bewilderment, then sadness, then salutary memory kicks in. You remember that terrific season, more than...
“Is This the Road to the Edward James?”
The Edward James was a fancy restaurant in the middle of nowhere, famous for its steaks. The building, by all accounts, was an old farmhouse that had been renovated, expanded, and made chichi. This...
As Expected
Grocery shopping is my idea of hell. But it’s a necessity, so I do it every week. I make the twenty-five-minute drive down the mountain to the nearest supermarket and submit to my fate....
Ruthie’s Letter
Early in 1957, my mother wrote a letter to her friend Ruthie. She told Ruthie she was getting married in May. In late March, Ruthie wrote back, an eight-page letter brimming with excitement and...