Category: Uncategorized
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Little Christmas Joys
I’m snug beneath the blankets, in a cozy room of a six hundred year-old inn. The pub below us is crowded with men and women filled with ale, mulled wine and good cheer. I’m listening to laughter…I’m hearing Silver Bells On the sound system. I’m not disturbed by the sounds; they will lull me to…
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It’s Not Easy
[Elias has to choose. It’s very important what to consider.] [DEDICATED TO ELIAS MUIR GOLDSTEIN, MY GRANDSON] It’s not an easy life being a child. No, the easy part of life is being a grown-up. They can go to bed when they want, they can watch any TV show on the cable…like The Bachelor in…
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Sometimes Losing is Winning
[Friends Seminary. [Photo credit: Google Search.] I spent New Years Eve, 1990 alone in a bar in Binghamton.The only kiss I got was from the off-duty bartender who had started celebrating early. He kissed the top of my head and said: “I love you, man,” and then fell backwards onto a table. I was at…
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North Dorset Once Again-The Excurinist III
[A London Pub. Nothing to do with this post.] We’re with our friends in North Dorset…once again. I met Tim when he was a rookie teacher when I was an exchange teacher in the mid-1980’s. Now he’s nearing retiring. His wife, Jo, is a major player in the local school, psychologist, and tutor. We love…
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A Fair Swap: The Excursionist I
On Friday, February 1, Mariam and I will be exchanging this: [The Hudson River on January 26, 2018] for this: [The Yorkshire Dales, England] It’s a pretty fine change of scenery if I do say so myself. Once upon a time, back in the day, I loved winter. How could one not love winter…when you’re…
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Coal For Christmas
[Watercolor sketch by Paul Egan. Date unknown.] [Note to my readers: If you think you’ve read this blog before, don’t think you’re getting senile. It’s perhaps the fourth or fifth time I’ve posted it. It’s my version of a pure Christmas Story. I’ve tweaked the story several times to try to make the narrative better, clearer and more truthful. As…
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For Me? It Was a Hard Days Night
[Source: Google search.] There were no classes scheduled for that Monday. It was parent/teacher conference day at Ridgefield High School in Connecticut. I was assigned to meet the parents of my students in an office close to the front entrance. I sat at the head of a large conference table made of a dark wood.…
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My Halloween Guest Blogger
[Source: Google search.] Pleased to meet you, I’m a man of wealth and taste. –Mick Jagger, Sympathy for the Devil. It’s my favorite time of year. It’s Halloween. And to help me celebrate, I have invited a “guest blogger” to take this space and make it her own. Erin Egan lives with her husband, son, and…
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My Son’s Beard
I saw him being born. Later on, I saw peach fuzz on his adolescent chin. A few years later, when he moved in with us, in New York City, I think he borrowed my razor. Yesterday, I stood next to him at The Beacon Bar. I sipped a beer, he had something I never…
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Next Stop: Poughkeepsie
[Mariam awaits our train at Grand Central Station My weariness amazes. —Bob Dylan As Train #283 chugs northward, the Hudson River, on my left…its water the color of tan mud, is flowing south to enter New York harbor. It’s going home in a way. So are we. Almost one month ago we were aboard the…
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