Being a kid in the ’50s has left me with vivid mid-century memories of things now long gone. Among them are Saturday matinees, spinster schoolmarms, penny candies (that really did cost a penny), huge July 4th parades, and of course fast cars and slow food. But one of my strongest memories ...

So there I was in my office (known to others as Nori’s cafe), when suddenly standing by my table was My Home Town’s premier elfin-hipster himself, Skip Murray. After the usual greetings and questions about what each of us was now reading (him, Henry Miller; me, Ian Rankin), he switched ...

I’ve always been bugged when folks refer to “idea people.” This implies humankind is divided into two main groups — them what thinks, and them what does. Granted, in some giant corporation like Microsoft, there are people who draw lordly salaries for the fruits of their minds alone. ...

If I’ve got nothing else in my favor, I am a good driver. I’ve had my license for 60 years, have never been in an accident, and have gotten only one speeding ticket, which was in a speed trap. Karma being what it is, I got stopped a couple other times for going over the speed limit and got ...

Since it almost always happens Winter Carnival week, I figured this year I’d run into at least one Watchoo. And, sure enough, I did. Though they vary in age, gender, height, weight, ethnicity, sexual preference and everything else, they all have one thing in common, namely they’re always ...

Clearly, certain talents run in certain families. The Wallendas were masters of the high wire. The Huxleys excelled in science, medicine and literature. Pierre and Marie Curie together won a Nobel Prize; Marie won another on her own, and most amazingly, her daughter also won one. The ...