Planting some hope

Losing our friend

And house dreams

What I found in our mud pit

And springtime in the garden

For a change

Greeting the new season

Some Oldster-adjacent articles, essays, podcasts, books, music, plays, shows, comedy nights and more.

And my aging bones

A few bright moments in the midst of chaos

Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use

Happiness is being surrounded by water…and cats…and history

For a lesson in taking your time to do a task with care, consider the spider. Click to read Consider the Spider with Julie Metz, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

and why you can get rid of yours

Who had the better ride?

Satisfying the two halves of my brain.

Truth, Beauty, Jazz, and a Sip of Sherry

Further thoughts on reproduction

As a writer of personal nonfiction, I worry that with every memoir or essay, I risk fragmenting and simplifying my life into words living on pages.

“Is this the only story we have?”

Further thoughts on reproduction

Two newlyweds, far from home

In defense of too-young women

A few thoughts on pro-natalism

What I Learned in Episcopal Summer Camp

Excavation and the art of letting go

The gift of random encounters

In defense of too-young women

I promise you—there’s a connection.

How we speak about Otherness

A trip to Florida

The best French I ever spoke was on an island in Greece.

Iris Origo’s vivid and timely wartime diaries

The beauty and tedium of a functioning democracy.

Get out your primers and discover the joy of kicking it old school

A kid adventure in Central Park

And other thoughts about America in this moment.

Useful distractions

The things we carry, and the delights of rediscovery

Sexual awakening and a moment of understanding between a mother and daughter

And some men who wrote them. (Includes spoilers)

Fighting unwelcome fauna on Manhattan’s Upper West Side

And other thoughts about America in this moment.

Brought to you by this box of tissues—recycled paper, people!*