Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Pleasure  Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” has been a best-seller for 200 years. Published in 1813, the British novel about the shabby-genteel Bennet family saddled with five penniless daughters is a “classic” that appears near the top of virtually all “favorite reads of all time” lists. There are, by Wiki-count,…

  I wrote this May, 1999    Columbine    The massacre at Columbine High School occurred six months before my daughter started high school, and she took to heart the frightening idea that something like that could happen “anywhere.” Personalizing the cliché given voice by so many commentators and public officials, Emilia said, “Newton, Massachusetts…

Don’t Tell Me It’s a “Minor” Holiday I like Hanukkah I like the candles, especially the ones that look like crayons with the twisting sides that look like they’re made of sugar instead of wax. I also like the imported ones from Israel, all fancy and for some reason made to look like trippy 1970s…

Milestone is an old word, as solid as a pillar marking distances along an old post road. In contemporary use, the meaning is temporal; a milestone is a significant event, the beginning or end of a stage in life — the stuff of memory. I was married in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury…

I could really use a pin or a necklace that says, “I remember nothing.” It is my motto and I repeat it at least once a day, giving credit to Nora Ephron and her book, I REMEMBER NOTHING I just reread it for the third time. And because I remember nothing it was almost like reading it…

I faced my usual challenge walking the dogs this morning. (If you noticed a change from singular to plural, that’s because Mabel, my daughter’s pup is with me for the summer.) The challenge is to try to stay present in the beauty of the moment instead of letting my mind race through a to-do list or…

I am a ham. I like getting up in front of people and holding forth. My first career goal was to become a big Broadway star. I still watch the Tony Awards acceptance speeches for hints about what to say when I win for best leading performance in a musical. When I speak in bookstores…

A Little Milestone Today As I filled out the form that will empty the college fund so that Emilia can complete her masters in social work degree —  with a certificate in non-profit management, if you please. I’ve been filling out these forms for years. New York Univesity — check. University of North Carolina –check. Many, many checks. Thank you, Red Tent. No…

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton! It took me a while to get it right. O-fei-bea with the beat on “fei,” which sounds like “fay.” I practiced in the car. Felix Contreras, Yuki Noguchi, Neda Ulaby Such beautiful, musical names, they almost ask to be sung. National Public Radio hosts, reporters and commentators have long been Smith, Clark, and Brown,…