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Twenty-five years in Boston…whoa!
Appreciating “At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight),” by Childe Hassam, 1885-86, during a recent trip to the Museum of Fine Arts with long-time friends Don and Sharon Driscoll, visiting from Illinois...
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Pandemic Chronicles #1: “Be careful what you wish for…”
Back in November 2018, I wrote here about my “dream vacation” (link here): My current dream vacation doesn’t involve traveling to popular or exotic tourist sites. In fact, it may sound downright geeky...
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Pandemic Chronicles #2: Turning off the TV news coverage has made me better...
Television news coverage and commentary are designed to get an emotional rise out of us. They can inform but also inflame. That’s how they get and keep viewers and thus build their ratings. At the...
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Pandemic Chronicles #3: Carless in Boston
Model and make of the only car I’ve ever owned It has taken a global pandemic to get me to a point where I feel limited by not owning a car. Here in Boston, we’re experiencing a predicted surge in...
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Pandemic Chronicles #4: Could I actually be eating healthier than before?
Improvised pizza Before this public health crisis changed our lives, I confess that many of my meals were ordered and consumed at Boston eateries. This includes assorted pizza and fast food...
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Pandemic Chronicles #5: Sports-inspired nostalgia
L to R: Players Steve Kerr, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, coach Phil Jackson I know I’m hardly alone in spending more time watching television during this public health crisis. As I...
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Pandemic Chronicles #6: The new normal is fluid and still surreal
Looking out the screen door. In The Year of Magical Thinking, author Joan Didion opens her widely-acclaimed memoir about loss and grief with these words: Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant....
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Pandemic Chronicles #7: Adventures lost
Our study abroad group at Coventry Cathedral, England, 1981 A couple of weeks ago, our study abroad group from college met for a Zoom-enabled happy hour/mini-reunion. It was the latest gathering of our...
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Pandemic Chronicles #8: And suddenly, our worlds became very small
Approaching Boston’s Logan International Airport (photo: DY) I was listening to a favorite album the other day, a collection of Gershwin songs by Michael Feinstein, one of the most devoted and talented...
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Pandemic Chronicles #9: Tastes of re-opening in Boston
City Feed & Supply, Jamaica Plain, Boston As some of you may know, Massachusetts has been one of the nation’s worst hotspots for the coronavirus. It has taken a lot of sacrifice and commitment to...
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Pandemic Chronicles #10: Taking stock of our lives
Is the coronavirus pandemic prompting you to take stock of your life? Are you spending some of the compelled time at home examining your past, present, and future? If so, you’re in good company. Put...
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Pandemic Chronicles #11: Remembering March 2020
As if time suddenly froze. Recently I visited my university office, the latest occasional visit to gather or return materials related to my teaching and research. When I reached the elevator bank of my...
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Pandemic Chronicles #12: This fall, my “back to school” experience is a...
I had a feeling it might be this way. Back in March and April, when people in the know started sharing possible timelines for coronavirus treatments and vaccines, it quickly became obvious to me that...
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Pandemic Chronicles #13: America votes
As the United States experiences an alarming, nationwide spike in COVID-19 cases, we face an election that will define us for the foreseeable future. The nation’s fundamental integrity and heart...
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Pandemic Chronicles #14: I’m learning how to cook
First-ever beef stew with Instant Pot, my most ambitious effort so far. When I thought about how I might conclude this year’s blog posts with something that encapsulates what the past ten months have...
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Pandemic Chronicles #15: Let’s get through this bleak midwinter
Recent snowfall viewed thru my kitchen window, Jamaica Plain, Boston Here in the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic continues at a brutal pace, as we await larger distributions of vaccines that will help...
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Pandemic Chronicles #16: “May you live in interesting times” (Umm, on second...
My school during more celebratory times, including being on the parade route for championship celebrations Many years ago, when I was easily inspired by catchy phrases, the expression “may you live in...
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Pandemic Chronicles #17: “A year ago this month…”
Last meal in Boston’s Chinatown (photo: DY) The turn of the calendar to February drove home to me how many lives changed suddenly and dramatically when the coronavirus entered our communities. Between...
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Pandemic Chronicles #18: Walking
Southwest Corridor Park, Jamaica Plain, Boston (photo: DY) With spring showing tantalizing signs of genuine arrival here in Boston, the warming weather has prompted me to take more walks around the...
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Pandemic Chronicles #19: First jab, with gratitude
As I anticipated receiving my first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday afternoon, I did not expect the experience to leave me feeling so, well, hopeful and even patriotic. In fact, I half expected...
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