The first in a series of five essays about Mental Health to celebrate the dog days of August. I’d been writing words and sentences since the first grade. As a person of engineering temperament, I expressed myself with logic and clarity (my specifications for concrete were top-notch). But I can…

We are stuck. On one hand liberals, or progressives, or left-wing, or Democrats, or whatever you want to call them; are hell-bent on subdividing our nation into ever tightly defined ‘identities.’ According to them, I am a cis-gender gay white male occupying land once inhabited by the Massachusett people…

My God, Paul, how many times have you seen this show? The thought synapsed through my brain as the lights dimmed on a covey of actors in revolutionary era brocade and buckles belting, “For God Sake, John, Sit Down!” My quick recall: five times. The original Broadway production, in 1969…

Sunday morning, July 3. Walking to the gym through a deserted city. Seventy degrees. Overcast. Listless. I love summer in the city. The Whole Foods crowd has Tesla’d off to their beaches and mountains. Leaving behind quiet stillness, a smattering of foreign graduate students, and street people. …

It’s not often that Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and I land on the same side of an issue. When it happens, the subject in question must occupy that obscure tangent where progressive ideology and libertarian thinking meet. Points of agreement always worth exploring. Back in 2018 I wrote a…

From my window I see the new tree that the City of Cambridge planted in the space between the sidewalk and the curb. Beyond that is the fresh pavement patch where they installed the new gas line. Across the street is the refurbished Glacken Field complex of playground and little…

“The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine.” John Howard, Olympic cyclist, set a speed record of 152.2 mph in 1985 It’s the longest day of the year up here beyond 42 degrees north. The weather is mild, the winds are calm. …

In time for Father’s Day, I read this vignette by Indrani Sen, Culture Editor for The New York Times. A thirteen-year-old girl, Sasha, asked her parents for permission to skip school. Her father, Matt Gross replied, “Not allowed. Nope!” and then offered this unsolicited advice: “Next time you want to…

My new favorite slogan for life comes from a deep binge of Netflix’ Inventing Anna. I watched the seven-hour dive into the world of New York City glamour, crime, and con-artistry back in March, when it topped so many must-view lists. …