The media is under serious attack these days, with cries of “fake news” flying whenever a story is printed with which someone prominent does not agree. It has been a pretty effective tactic since there actually is a lot of fake news out there. The local newspaper on Sunday publishes a wrap-up of the most prominent fake news stories that circulated in the prior week. At least so far, nobody is being threatened with fines and even jail for reporting the news. I think the present occupant of the Oval Office would bring back the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, th
ough I doubt he actually...
Read more...
For several years, a small black-and-white photograph has been propped on the easel on my desk. Henry B. Fox is seated in front of his manual typewriter in the converted smokehouse that served as his office. Nearly six years ago, I decided to write a biography of Fox, the Circleville Philosopher. He published a humor column in country newspapers for a half-century and wrote three novels as well.
At long last, I am finished with this phase of the project. Work and life kept getting in the way, but the book — 85,000 words, including a chunk of Fox’s best work at the end — is complete, edited...
Read more...
We have a small patch of yard in front — about 20 feet by 30 feet — surrounded by mature azaleas and towering trees. The patch was scraggly grass and moss when we bought the house 5 ½ years ago. Over the years it deteriorated into largely dirt. Moles invaded, turning the soil spongy. So I buttonholed a landscape architect working next door and asked his advice on what would work best. “Plant San Augustine,” he said. “It will last at least a few years.” Since we plan to put the house up for sale and downsize fairly soon, that sounded like a plan.
I hired two teenagers to scrape off the scrub...
Read more...
Four years ago, I sat in the outfield grandstand of Minute Maid Park and watched the Red Sox demolish a miserable Houston team that would go on to lose 111 games that season — its third-straight year of losing more than 100 games. The tickets were cheap, and there appeared to be more Red Sox fans around me than Astros backers. The “Lastros” were lustily booed by their “fans” that night and at many succeeding games. The Red Sox would go on to win their third World Series in nine years.
But the Houston front office had a plan to rebuild this team, and close followers of baseball noticed....
Read more...
