Skip to content →

Month: November 2015

I’m guilty of child neglect and have to do something about it

For about the last six months, I’ve neglected my son. For the first several years he lived with us (we adopted him when he was five), we did a great deal together. We hiked, took photographs, went camping and bike riding. In fact, we did some of that this summer,…

One Comment

A Christmas in Germany three decades hence

Every year starting in late November stands a market in Trier’s town center. The otherwise wide open pedestrian zone in the center of town hosts a village of what look like gypsy wagons draped in Christmas lights. The owners sell hand-made goods: candles, Christmas ornaments, toys, and other suitable holiday presents.…

Leave a Comment

Of Vonnegut and Heller: Billy Pilgrim, Ice-9, Catch-22, and the writing life

A few things I didn’t know until the last couple of days: First, in the 1950s, Joseph Heller worked as a highly paid advertising executive for some of America’s most popular and influential magazines, such as Life, Look, and McCall’s. Second, Kurt Vonnegut could be a real prick. I first read…

Leave a Comment