Just a piano player

For many years, I have been a volunteer, playing piano for the choir at a predominantly-Jewish assisted living facility.  We do a lot of son...

On November 22, 1963, I was sitting in Mrs. Peachy's 4th Grade class, at Hendy Avenue School, Elmira, New York.  It was a normal day unt...

I've been thinking about Orson Welles a lot lately. I  recently finished the eBook version of this: http://www.amazon.com/Young-Orso...

I was born in Elmira (1951) and called it my home thru High School (go, Blue Devils!). As part of the Elmira diaspora (I only get there no...

After many centuries of my family kicking around Poland and Lithuania (and Spain, before that), my European grandparents settled in Elmira, ...

I grew up in a little town in Upstate New York.  The recent photos from Buffalo reminded me of epic snow-storms of my childhood, staring out...

I don't remember where that name came from - I think he referred to himself that way in one of his many letters to me, years ago. Sanf...

This post is silly, but I had a startling 'ain't-it-odd' experience this morning. It started when I happened to glance at Paul...

So, tonight, (thankfully former) President W is speaking before the "let's all convert the Jews to Jesus" conference in Texas....

Karen has a small but impressive collection of antique salt-and-pepper shakers.  One had such an encrustation of salt on its inside that the...

As a computer guy, I have some understanding of the incredible complexity of the Federal Exchange, and a lot of sympathy for the developers ...

Of course Chuck Todd should be retired, for both his frustrating, lazy-ass reporting and his insufferable smugness.  I think we all can agre...

In the summer of 1967, I traveled to Europe with a group of students from my home town.  As I look back on the experience, I've often wo...

This piece got me thinking (always a dangerous prospect).  To summarize, a real-estate guy in Arizona sells 'protective services', ...

A couple of years ago, I remember seeing a presentation on what seemed to me to be an outstanding model for dealing with the issue of electr...

Spending a couple of days in Manzanita, with doggie. This morning, despite clouds and the promise of drizzle (a promise that was indeed ful...

For context, see yesterday's post . When Karen and Eric left Santa Cruz, around 2 this afternoon, Sylvia was mostly comatose, and ever...

July, 1983 My father had been in poor health for a couple of years, but as the summer of 1983 began, it was clear that he was dying.  Afte...

There is actual sun in Portland today, and it's positively mild - what a change!  Time to get out in the yard and do a few long-postpone...

Well over a year ago, I noticed that I get a busy signal whenever I dial (from our home land-line) a phone number in the 503 area code, that...