South Seas

The neurology PA is not much of a negotiator. “No coffee, dairy, or alcohol,” she says.

“Good” Schools and “Bad” Schools

In the reviews for the film “Waiting for Superman,” several writers have described the lottery for slots in the “good” charter schools. At the school where I teach, families are reluctant to pull their students out, even if it is clear that the kid doesn’t want to do the work, and isn’t (at least currently) […]

Straight and Narrow

A crane is poised, one dramatically elegant leg up, one down. Right in the way that we expect free animals to be right, right with itself, and the world, and the now. “Ortho” right: straight, correct, orthodox. On Saturday I saw this crane sculpture, about eight inches high. Dark metal. A neck straighter than nature […]

Anonymous

The last time I was in print this much, Clinton was president. Taxes were high, and the living was easy. I had a little underground newspaper in high school, and it was almost an ideal gig. Writing my diatribes and little reviews, then copying it with babysitting money, and leaving copies in the bathroom and […]