I wrote this poem in September of 2001, a few days after the towers fell. I still have vivid memories of Windows on the World, and of the morning of September 11 when I watched the horrific events unfold on my TV screen. I’ve flown a few times since then, but whenever I see a… [Read More]
Super Don and Baby Donny: Battle of the malignant narcissists
I wrote this dialogue between Donald Trump’s super-ego and id soon after the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, and I’m publishing it here for the first time on February 10th in the midst of his second impeachment trial. As more and more damning details emerge about his role in inciting violence, and the… [Read More]
Christmas Consumption–remember when we shopped till we dropped?
I wrote this poem four years ago, in 2017. I never dreamed how drastically my habits as a consumer would change in a single year, but Covid-19 has utterly destroyed the joy I used to take in spending. Not just in shopping, but in so much more—dining out in restaurants, going to movies, and most… [Read More]
Times Union to publish my blog next week!
On September 6, I published an essay here entitled “The Authoritarian Madness of Donald Trump.” I’ve since deleted it, because two days ago I heard from Jay Jochnowitz, the Editorial Page Editor at the Albany Times Union, that they’re going to run it sometime next week. I’d nearly given up on their publishing it, which… [Read More]
Madly for Adlai and Jack at the Democratic National Convention in 1956
Safely hunkered down at home during the Covid pandemic, watching the virtual Democratic Convention on CNN this past week, I’ve been thinking about the convention I attended in Chicago in 1956, when Jack Kennedy burst on the scene as a rising star. The Senator from Massachusetts was in a tightly contested race for Vice President…. [Read More]
It’s the end of the world as we know it–so we might as well party
Back in the early 1960’s, I never imagined I’d live to turn 30. The threat of nuclear annihilation loomed over the planet. In high school, I’d been subjected to those ridiculous drills when we crouched under our desks, as if that would somehow save us from Communist bombs raining down and incinerating us. In my… [Read More]