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The new boarding houses: Dorm life for graduates
Okay, college graduates, if you could continue dormitory-type living even after leaving school, would you opt to do so? If your answer is “yes,” then you may be pleased to see this option developing...
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From college move-in days to reunions
Hello dear readers, it has been a while since I’ve posted! I’ve been hip deep in various publication projects related to work, and they’ve drained much of whatever writing energies I’ve had this...
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That final exam anxiety dream
Marlene Cimons writes for the Washington Post about a recurring anxiety dream experienced by many, including yours truly: For most people, including me, it goes like this: We’ve signed up for a course...
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Homecoming 2016
An autumn sun sets on VU’s Chapel of the Resurrection (photo: DY) Sometimes we can go home again, and if we’re lucky, the experience can be even sweeter than the first time around. In a year of ups and...
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Two memorable semester breaks
Brandt Hall dormitory, Valparaiso University, Indiana (photo: DY) Even though I’ve been teaching for some 27 years, I don’t get overly enthused about semester breaks. They usually involve a fair amount...
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Music as time machine: 1979
At my go-to karaoke place in Boston, the main stage DJ is fond of playing clips of late 70s pop music in between numbers selected for performance. When things are a bit slow, he’ll even get up and...
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Pandemic Chronicles #7: Adventures lost
Our study abroad group at Coventry Cathedral, England, 1981 A couple of weeks ago, our study abroad group from college met for a Zoom-enabled happy hour/mini-reunion. It was the latest gathering of our...
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Pandemic Chronicles #12: This fall, my “back to school” experience is a...
I had a feeling it might be this way. Back in March and April, when people in the know started sharing possible timelines for coronavirus treatments and vaccines, it quickly became obvious to me that...
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Pandemic Chronicles #15: Let’s get through this bleak midwinter
Recent snowfall viewed thru my kitchen window, Jamaica Plain, Boston Here in the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic continues at a brutal pace, as we await larger distributions of vaccines that will help...
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Pandemic Chronicles #20: Witnessing “The Troubles” 40 years ago
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1981 (photo: DY) With vaccinations on the increase and safer travel becoming a realistic possibility during the months to come, memories of past sojourns have become...
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Pandemic Chronicles #24: Not so fast
(image courtesy Clipart Panda) In my last entry (link here), I wrote — somewhat breathlessly — that “Americans are traveling again, and I’m among them.” Although I wasn’t claiming victory over the...
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Pandemic Chronicles #25: Monet, London fog, and memory at the Museum of Fine...
Monet and Boston exhibit, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (photo: DY) A greater appreciation for the cultural amenities of my home town of Boston and its surroundings has been an unintended but welcomed...
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Pandemic Chronicles #29: Recalling the calm before the COVID storm, March 2020
Part of my initial food stash, which fortunately improved mightily during the months to come I recall vividly what it felt like two years ago, as we awaited the arrival of the coronavirus here in...
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You’re invited: “The Dignity of an Intellectual Life for All,” Oct. 21, 1-3...
The Dignity of an Intellectual Life for All Friday, October 21, 2022, 1:00-3:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Online Format Hosted by Suffolk University Law School (https://www.suffolk.edu/law/) and...
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Pandemic Chronicles #31: And so, what about 2023?
On this last day of 2022, I visited Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, to see a special exhibit devoted to the rich history of Life magazine and how photojournalism shapes our perceptions of world events...
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