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Dec 11, 2021
Check Your Fortune, Cookie?
Performing rituals, particularly harmless and generally unimportant ones, has the power to assure us of life’s continuity. When we repeat...

Dec 1, 2021
School Board (Never Bored)
We had a little ritual. Sometimes, when meetings got contentious, my colleague would lean over and whisper, “This is a thankless job!”...

Nov 16, 2021
Wise (and Why’s) Grandparenting
Grandparenting provides an endless series of satisfying experiences exceeding anything I could have anticipated. I scrum around with a...

Oct 22, 2021
Planning: Habit or Necessity?
My wife’s retirement has confirmed what my high school science teachers taught me, that nature really does abhor a vacuum. This...


Oct 10, 2021
Philly’s Washington Square
As a kid, I stopped in at my grandparents’ house at 704 Pine St. about twice a month. Besides the pleasant family re-connection, there...

Oct 1, 2021
What Ever Happened to…?
Lately, when I awaken briefly in the middle of the night, it’s become common to find myself in “whatever happened to?” land. Names that...


Sep 13, 2021
Lessons Learned
Gripped by Covid overload, what the disease has revealed about our society is the last thing I want to write about. But sometimes the...


Aug 30, 2021
Baseball and Families
Watching the Phillies on TV the other night, I focused on a close-up that demanded my attention. A dad (or some insensitive version of...


Aug 20, 2021
Truth Really Is Stranger Than Fiction
Even though we completed our move to Philadelphia a year ago, I’m still coming across relics from different times and different places....


Aug 15, 2021
Write!
I marvel sometimes about how fragments of the past suddenly re-appear after years of being ignored by their negligent guardian, me. In...


Jul 20, 2021
Saying Thank-You
Her reaction surprised me. She looked at me doubtfully, eyes narrowed, but then, a tentative smile began to lighten her face. “Me?” she...

Jul 1, 2021
Ingredients for an Ideal Retirement
In this ever-competitive country, everything must be ordered and evaluated––even our retirement plans. Today in Inside Higher Ed, I...


May 30, 2021
A Vehicle for Reminiscence
BEFORE––Tomorrow, I’m going to take care of one more complication that stems from moving. In case you’re worried, I’m in no danger of...

May 12, 2021
Mort’s Mother’s Day Poem
Mort and Elaine enjoy Philly’s great restaurants with friend Barbara Nodine. Mort’s Mother’s Day Poem, May 9, 2021 --For the Belle, now...

Mar 17, 2021
The Curse of Flexible Truth and False Alternative Realities
Our grand-daughter, 21-month-old Della Maimon, observes the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Innovative energy has generally been a...

Mar 1, 2021
Crossword Puzzles
I suddenly looked up from the article I’d been reading and half-shouted, “Damn! That’s it!” “What’s it?” inquired my startled wife...


Feb 23, 2021
Our Young Art Enthusiasts
Our twin grandkids, Della and Marcus Maimon, at 22-months old are already sculpture aficionados. Here they are visiting Grounds for...

Feb 23, 2021
Learning to Write
After I graduated from a prestigious academic high school, I knew one thing for certain. Never in the future would I write anything...


Jan 19, 2021
Swimming
Years ago, I became a compulsive swimmer because I couldn’t escape the recollection of being called, in the parlance of those times, a...


Jan 11, 2021
Mugs for Thugs
During the pandemic, Elaine and I have taken advantage of one of the few positive results of sequestration. Being confined, we often...
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