It was an innocent question, I suppose, that I should have expected from someone in another country. Still, I was taken aback two weeks ago when I overheard the blackjack dealer at Casino de Montreal say the name Donald Trump. READ
Tag: staff column
I’m a big fan of tipping. I feel it’s one small way to give back to folks who could really use the money — and the best way to get better service. READ
You’ll have to excuse the gloomy face of late. But at least most of the readers here can likely relate. READ
I remember the high school graduation gift I got from one of my cousins: “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” by Dr. Seuss. At the time, I thought it was a very novel idea. A children’s book for a (kind of) adult! Who’da thought? READ
I’ve already owned two iPads. My newest MacBook Pro laptop is probably the fourth or fifth computer I’ve used since beginning my career here in 2006. (Some suffered ill fates, such as the laptop that got crushed by a rolling grill in the back of a van. Imagine explaining that to your boss.) I’ve always been careful with cell phones, but even without breaking any, the natural order of progression has required me to cycle through four or five phones in the past nine years. (more…)
I had a few things in mind when I left a good job at the Daily News in 2008 to write for a weekly newspaper in a place I was only vaguely familiar with. For one, I wanted to write stories longer than 600 words and The New York Times wasn’t exactly knocking on my door. I also wanted to write about the people of Long Island, a place to which I felt more of an attachment than any of New York City’s five boroughs. (more…)
At some point, we’ve all received a gift that hasn’t exactly jingled our bells. And, let’s admit it, most of us have given those disappointing gifts as well on occasion — usually unintentionally. We figured it would be more fun to run a column about bad gifts than good ones. (more…)
Women have made huge inroads over decades in many fields long — and unfairly — considered the exclusive territory of men. Print and broadcast journalism, of course, come immediately to mind. It’s also hard to imagine a time when all bartenders were men; it’s been well over a hundred years since the infamous 1892 crackdown in St. Louis that targeted “saloon keepers who employ women as attendants.”
A seaplane flies over Mattituck Aug. 22, one of several aircraft observed over a three-hour period that night. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)
Three hours into an exhaustive stakeout to document the greatest threat to North Fork life — helicopter noise — I reached an inauspicious conclusion: On this night in Mattituck, the loudest noise was neither helicopter, seaplane, nor any other flying craft that pollutes our precious skies. (more…)
He sat in the middle of the bus, at a window, looking out.
Middle-aged, dressed in a suit, white shirt and tie, he was always there whenever I boarded the dawn bus in Greenport that took us to Ronkonkoma, where we changed for the Manhattan train. (more…)