Sounds Last weekend, I was honored to be part of an episode on Senator Bill Bradley’s “American Voices” national radio program, in which I talked about my favorite sound in America, one that no longer exists—the rumbling and screeching yet somehow comforting sound of the passing trolleys on Philadelphia’s Germantown Avenue where I spent part … Continue reading Sounds and Links
Under Neon Light
A mighty neon-lit Shout-Out to KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia for their excellent podcast series, “The Jawncast.” If you grew up in Philly, you’ll love this series. If you just moved there and want to hasten your orientation to the area, this is the podcast for you. Whether or not you have Philly ties, you’ll be … Continue reading Under Neon Light
TURNING POINTS—”Finding Our Voices”
We all experience points in our lives that prove pivotal. Those moments are not always obvious to us at the time. For a woman in Maine’s town of Camden, it is not difficult to identify a particular occasion when everything changed. Patrisha McLean’s personal horror that night immediately and permanently impacted her personal life. Since … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—”Finding Our Voices”
Turning Points–Surprising Reads
We read to be surprised. We also read to have our preconceptions reinforced. But openness to new fictional worlds means we allow for the possibility of experiencing a turning point in how we think, how we see. Recently, I finished reading a novel that is described as a "thriller"--not my meat and potatoes as a … Continue reading Turning Points–Surprising Reads
TURNING POINTS—When Handcuffs Might Not Be Our Best First Move
For some time now, Americans have watched one incident after another in which police-citizen interactions go bad. We’ve heard all sorts of proposals about how to improve this hard, ugly truth. No single change is likely to improve conditions enough to make people feel that we are making real progress, but a recent Bangor Daily … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—When Handcuffs Might Not Be Our Best First Move
TURNING POINTS—And Page Turners
I’ve never met Maine-based novelist Susan Conley, but I feel like I know Jill Archer, the protagonist of Conley’s Landslide. If you came across a character like Jill in one of those beachy reads that summer visitors inhale while ensconced on cozy B&B porches overlooking Penobscot Bay, chances are the reading would not rate up … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—And Page Turners
TURNING POINTS—Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day!
Four years ago on the film’s 25th anniversary, Chicago Tribune writer Ted Slowik called Groundhog Day “the best movie ever made.” Strong praise for a Bill Murray comedy, even though it’s one of my favorite movies. https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-groundhog-day-st-0201-20170131-story.html February 2. You know the drill. Cut to Punxsutawney, PA, where, in delightfully unscientific fashion, top-hatted town officials … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day, Happy Groundhog Day!
TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
According to the CDC, commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous ways to make a living. But certain people are drawn in a big way to this physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding work, like the hardy folk who fish for lobster off the coast of Maine. To identify lobstering simply their “job” misses the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
It’s a word that comes up in conversations around the end of the year holidays. Hope. The word has gotten used a lot this whole COVID year, as in HOPE FOR A VACCINE! Hope came up quite a bit in OPEN ADMISSIONS: WHAT TEACHING AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEARNING, and it keeps showing … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
Holidays can end all at once, like the final jingle bell note on the radio’s last Christmas song at 11:59 PM on December 25. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, lingers on in most households. In fact, some would argue that the post-Thanksgiving uses of cooked turkey equal or top the big day’s feast. Before the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
Ned Bachus 