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In the bleak mid-winter cold
It was a strange week. Sunday was deceptively calm. Old movies (including one with a hilarious supporting role played by my spiritual godmother Eve Arden), watching the football playoffs and…
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Reality
The new week begins with an event we’ve been anticipating for a while. Since November, there has been an endless array of think pieces about what it all means, what…
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What might have been
January 2, 2025 As I write this, I’m in a hotel room in Athens, Georgia, a stone’s throw from the University of Georgia’s main campus. Tomorrow morning, I’m meeting with…
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That was the year
As I began writing this, the last hours of 2024 were ticking away. I’m facing the weird feeling I always get when a year ends and a new one begins.…
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The Christmas that was
When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for Christmas to get here. There was so much anticipation and excitement, hoping that Santa would make good on the items I’d…
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The Video Archive, Vol. 1
Our family bought its first VCR in April 1985. To me, being able to watch movies on it was only half the fun. It was the ability to record stuff…
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Time Capsule: Life, Nov. 24, 1958
Too many things on my mind are failing to cohere into a decent post (or series thereof), so why don’t we dive back into the stacks, eh? Here’s the November…
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A fenced-in hallowed ground
Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we went over to be with the family. On the whole, it was a pleasant get-together. The food was good (and plentiful) and the antics around…
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The Fifth Column of Decency: Life, Sept. 23, 1957
One of my favorite pastimes on a lazy afternoon is to leaf through old magazines in various online archives. The big Life magazine archive is a particular joy to me,…
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A day with the Big Ship
I didn’t have “weekend trip to Philadelphia” on my bingo card back in July. But life happened, as it will. The ocean liner United States has been a long-standing fascination…