For a few nerdy weeks between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended a Latin camp at Kansas University. I probably learned some Latin, but the big draw was being on a university campus several hours from home, surrounded by other nerdy kids. In other words, it was a trial run at … Read More
“What did you do on your summer vacation?” It’s a reliable, if predictable, essay topic to assign when you want to get to know a batch of new high school kids. But in all my many years of teaching English, I never assigned it. Here’s why. In her first week of her first year of … Read More
We retired people don’t need vacations for rest, the way we used to when we worked full-time. But most of us still crave the chance to change things up: to change the pace, change the place, and spend some time recharging. We need to vary things a little. I know I do. The Italians call … Read More
When I told people last spring I was teaching a class on some postmodernist novels, a few shot me puzzled glances. Maybe they were wondering why anyone on earth would do that, but the questions they actually asked out loud were two: 1) What were we reading in the class? 2) What the heck is … Read More
The late, great Ruth Bader Ginsburg reported that, just before her wedding, her mother gave her some amusing advice for marriage: “Sometimes it helps to be a little deaf.” (She added it was also excellent advice for dealing with colleagues.) I thought of that story last year when I got asked by StoryWorth about relationship … Read More
Yesterday I cried about Nova Scotia. Or rather, I cried about the very real prospect that this summer, like last summer, we won’t be allowed in to Nova Scotia. At this time of year, I would usually be humming a happy song while I plan the move to our cottage up there—which is not just … Read More
Despite being allergic to almost everything natural, I need trees and grass around me. Cities tend to overstimulate me. I get exhausted by the traffic, the noise, and the multitudes of people. Once, when I got going the wrong way on Storrow Drive in Boston and couldn’t find a place to turn off, I pulled … Read More
What most people call Spring, I experience as Pollen Season. This month, all the plants and trees are soaking up the sunshine and rain and growing inches each day. They’re also putting out unbelievable amounts of yellow, dusty stuff that makes me sneeze like crazy. Thank goodness for antihistamines. Without them, I’d spend the whole … Read More
This year, I’ve been grateful not to be named Karen. (Who wants to embody a meme about white cluelessness?) On the other hand, I’ve never been thrilled to be named Nancy, either. When I was growing up, I didn’t mind it too much. I felt a kinship with the indomitable Nancy Drew, girl detective. And … Read More
Here in New England, we cherish every sign of spring’s arrival. (Even those of us with hideous allergies enjoy it between sneezes.) So it doesn’t surprise me that Russian authors, with their even longer and darker winters, honor it extravagantly. And while their characters experience the sunshine and new leaves, spring also drifts into a … Read More