In the early 1960s, a Broadway play entitled “Stop the World, I Want to Get Off” seemed to capture a feeling that many Americans were experiencing. The musical itself (written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse) was a short-lived success, receiving several Tony Award nominations. But its story wasn’t really what the title suggested. […]
Archives for September 2010
A Tale of Two Men
Mark, a white man, was born in 1946 to a lower-middle class family in San Francisco. His father was a line worker in a large manufacturing firm. He supported his wife, Mark, and Mark’s younger brother, on an income that they squeaked by on, with enough left over to allow them a two-week vacation […]
Two Baseball Books for the Hot-Stove League
With the baseball season winding down, two books commend themselves as worthy companions for the hot-stove league that will begin as soon as the last pitch has been thrown. One is a fascinating historical review; the other is a personal memoir. “Bottom of the Ninth,” is not, as the title might otherwise suggest, […]
Another Year Older, and Still It’s a Puzzle
I am about to celebrate another birthday, and the prospect only brings me any true sense of joy when I think about the somewhat bittersweet joke about getting older. It does beat the alternative, or so, at least, I assume. The passing of the years has been something of a puzzle to me for […]