Newspaper Articles
Return to Levittown
25 Winding Lane, Levittown, New York, in August 1958. An architectural photography company took this photo for House Beautiful magazine. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection written for Blue Ridge Press In the 1960s my three brothers, sister, parents,...
Bring Back Recess
written for The Washington Post On October 25, 2002, schoolchildren in the Washington area emerged gleefully from locked classrooms and ran out to the playground. “Recess is back,” proclaimed The Washington Post. But had the snipers who shut down ordinary life for...
Towels, Sunblock, and, Oh Yeah, Checkbook
written for The New York Times AS soon as beach season started, I set out on an odyssey to test the Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that municipal beaches must be open to the public, not just to residents. In the family van, my two daughters and I sought out beaches...
Pushcart Flop: The Cold Reality of My Short, Unsuccessful Stint as Vendor
written for The Hartford Courant Each summer for one afternoon, a giant fife-and-drum parade comes to my quiet town. Thousands of people come to watch the bands. Selling ice cream at the Deep River Ancient Muster had always seemed like a sure way to make a bundle....
Bracelet Bears Legacy of Hope and Grief
written for The Day After the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, I went looking for my old prisoner-of-war bracelet. It was tucked in a folder of childhood papers. The stainless steel band with "Capt. Richard G. Morin, 12-20-68" looks exactly as it did in the...
