Thoughts, experiences and adventures from a resident of DelSo aka Delaware Avenue South in Albany, N.Y.
The most simplistic answer would be that momentous event occurred on September 21st, 1966 in early morning when I made my debut at the (now defunct) Manhattan Infirmary.* Because, although neither of my parents were American citizens, and only one of them is even listed on my birth certificate, by birthright I was declared American, … Continue reading When did America become “the country where I was born?”
I was mostly successful in my endeavor to ignore the ceremonial changing of the guard, from well intentioned feeble to malovent tyranny, this past Monday. Rather than subject myself to the crowning of the naked emperor, I opted to nest at home with warm soup and baskets of clean laundry to fold. It was a … Continue reading Read ‘em and weep
I awoke thinking about the two children who had died after falling in Washington Park’s lake. It’s impossible to know what the boy had been thinking when he ventured onto ice which was nowhere near strong enough to hold his weight. Did he know he was taking a risk? Was he perhaps laughing with nerves … Continue reading Frozen in time
A couple of late summers ago, Jeter and I were on our usual walk around the Normanskill Farm. We had wandered down the yellow brick road and the trail near the creek, made our way up the gravel road and looped around to where the path divided the bountiful community garden from the kill. The … Continue reading Red dahlias of hope
Just another day in America yet, somehow, since it’s the day before my students return to their classrooms after summer break, the latest school shooting in the United States is hitting me hard. Why do we tolerate this? Why do we allow our government to do nothing? Why have we given organizations like the NRA … Continue reading Starting the school year off with a bang
I learned this week of the loss of a friend from high school. Before I go further, you should know a couple of things - first I hesitated to write “friend,” because it’s a word that suggests a connection and intimacy that I wasn’t certain I should claim there had been between Gary and myself. … Continue reading Death of a crusader
Within minutes of arriving at the neighborhood association holiday event, I had heard the terrible news about Matt Peter dying. I was at the party to take photographs of party attendees, something I do as often as I can when asked, and my task immediately became more difficult. How in the world was I going … Continue reading The death of the future mayor
DelSo 