Let me first admit that Jackson Browne’s lyrics from “The Pretender” inspired the title of this one. I met M years ago in Canada*. When I told her I would be visiting for a month to write a book, M was overjoyed. Near the end of the month, we had made many good memories together. …
Sometimes the evil, the largeness of evil, threatens to knock me over. Some days, it seems enormous. You know what I mean. And not just on the world stage, where public trust in words like “public health” is mostly gone. On the daily level, we all have our batch of troubles that deceive us into …
*In case you missed it: Grand Opening Portrait Contest ends tomorrow, June 2nd (details)* On a long drive from Maryland to New Hampshire, I sat in the front seat of our converted van. I glanced back to check on our boys and saw them reading in their seats. The sun had set and they were …
On a child’s level, the general chaos of the world increases. Take a supermaket. My youngest, O, stands level with the conveyor ramp. Down at his eye level, everything changes. Here on the same plane as knees and thighs and crotches, you feel the sudden ugliness of the world. At three feet, you know most …
