A little emergency room etiquette lesson
My friend Tom is an emergency room physician. As he so often says, he has seen everything and has fixed everything. Tom never worries about the quirks of his patients. That’s not his job. He’s there to mend, stitch, rescue and console. He leaves social trend analysis to politicians (or, Heaven help us, to columnists). But when I broke bread with Tom the other day, he was as... READ MORE
Sad when a long-time marriage dissolves
It had been years since I’d seen my former co-worker Jim, so I didn’t want to start with “How’s your wife?” Maybe she was ill. Maybe she had died. So I trotted out the old standard: “What’s new?” “Oh, not much,” said Jim. His smile was wide. But his eyes gave him away. They flitted — was it with guilt? With discomfort? And then he said: “What’s new is that ... READ MORE
On the question of disciplining grandkids
Family reunions in crowded restaurants are usually happy affairs. Cousins catch up with each other. New spouses get to know one another. Memories and jokes fly. Smiles abound. Except when a 5-year-old boy decides that he’s not having fun. The issue: Who should discipline that child if he misbehaves? The parents only? Or can grandparents leap in? The boy was sitting near... READ MORE
When your kids think they’re your parents
It was a highly ordinary phone call with my 30-something daughter — her plans for the weekend, her struggles with her dog, her need for a new dishwasher. Then she asked what was new with me. The call suddenly got very bumpy. I told my daughter that I had just returned the night before from a business meeting in Pennsylvania. It ended at about 10:30 p.m. Since I’m not made of... READ MORE
Too old to cause trouble, or so they think
If you’re a cheapskate like me, you’ve figured out that the only way to save money on airfares these days is to fly early in the day. Very early. Like before roosters limber up their vocal cords. So there was Your Hero one recent morning — the sun wasn’t up yet — grinding his way through the security checkpoint at a local airport. The clock on the wall said 5:20 a.m. It... READ MORE
When the old family car was like a friend
It was another red light among thousands. Three lanes heading in my direction. I sighed to a stop in the middle one. Then I looked to my left. There, huffing and snorting like the relic it was, I spied a 1978 Ford station wagon. The wagon was red over black. Its rear gate was slightly ajar — probably the result of a fender bender. Its hood was slightly bent — maybe the result of a ... READ MORE
The ties that bind never lose their import
Spring cleaning is usually a major bore and a major chore. Find a large plastic trash bag. Head for the main closet. Identify t-shirts and socks that no human being ever will (or ever should) wear again. Stuff the stuff into the bag. Repeat. And then head for Amvets or Goodwill, drop it all off, feel virtuous, go home. But this past spring, the ritual annual purge brought me up... READ MORE
Learning what counts from ex-teachers
It’s a snazzy retirement party that a very good friend is tossing for herself. She has ordered grape leaves, hummus and lots of very good French wine. She deserves all of it. She has been dragging out of bed at 5 a.m. for nearly 20 years as a public school teacher in the Washington suburbs. She says her head hurts, her feet hurt, call her tomorrow and probably something... READ MORE
Mourning the loss of old-time baseball
Three cheers for spring. I’ve been through many of them — some would say too many — and for most of those years, this young man’s fancy didn’t turn only to love. When April arrived, baseball arrived. All together now…“Take me out to the ball game…Take me out with the crowd…” Ah, the crack of the bat. Ah, the umpires who would screech, “Yerrrr out!” Ah, those ... READ MORE
A call to action by all drivers
My friend Ted is a solid citizen and a dutiful sort. He pays his taxes on time. He does the family grocery shopping cheerfully. When his 90-something parents need something, Ted arranges it, even though he and they live 1,500 miles apart. But sometimes your true nature pops out at moments when you don’t have time to think about it. So it went for Ted one recent evening. He was... READ MORE
