COVID-19
A Dispatch from the Study
Quiet solitude is the natural environment for most writers. However, the grinding isolation and stress of the ongoing pandemic tests everyone’s psychological mettle. Then came the Capitol insurrection last month. The future remains, at best, unsettled. Most days, frightening. Still, we can find solace, relief, and daresay meaning in our day-to-day routines and pursuits. Here…
New Year, New Podcast
2021 marks my third straight appearance on a New Year’s episode of We Need Some Milk, a podcast devoted to exploring local politics in Massachusetts and New Jersey. (Although this pairing might seem strange, trust me, it works.) Three years running … it’s officially a tradition. The hosts and I discussed the pandemic, cast predictions…
Readying for Winter
With the arrival of a difficult winter, simple comforts and pastimes might provide much-needed support.
A Trip to the Green Market
A rainy morning trip to the Union Square Green Market instills surprise and solace. Such everyday experiences seem faraway and extraordinary during the pandemic.
A Paean to a City
The seemingly never-ending COVID-19 pandemic has shredded municipal budgets and tax bases. A regular cycle of news stories darkly speculate as to the health of the American city. Essential services–mass transit, public parks, schools–seem imperiled. The current presidential administration and its conservative allies delight at the situation. At best, the future of our cites seem…
Walking: A Re-Discovered Joy
Last week, I walked to the Village neighborhood in downtown Jersey City for the first time since the pandemic began in March. Although this slice of the city is only a twenty- or thirty-minute stroll from my home, I felt as if I was embarking upon a great quest or journey. During the past five…
Picks from the Hermitage
Like many Americans, my daily life has centered around my home since the pandemic began this past spring. I miss seeing friends and family and sharing traditions and moments with them. The pandemic has slowed life down for many of us, and that might be a welcome change. Rarely venturing beyond my own neighborhood provides…
A Fig Tree in Summer
A backyard fig tree prompts a reflection on gardening, nature, and place amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and self-isolation.
Solace in the Garden
Amid the distressing events of the past weeks and days–ongoing pandemic, massive unemployment, police violence, civic unrest, and horrible presidential leadership, I’ve found it challenging to concentrate and write. My subjects have grown smaller in scope and range, largely focusing on the happenings of nature in my wife’s and my backyard.