Back in the day when I had to go to Sunday school, my favorite teacher was Hart Beaver. He was a lawyer and an Assistant District Attorney for Lebanon County (as I wrote about in my Murder in a Small Town series). He led some interesting discussions from time to time. Like when we were … Continue reading Who’s a Commie Now?
Author: jt
Tragedy and Comedy
Walter Kerr, in addition to being the husband of humorist Jean Kerr, was a theater critic for the New York Herald Tribune and later on for the New York Times. During his time as a critic, he gave absolute raves to fluffy musicals such as Hello, Dolly!, and he consistently panned everything that Stephen Sondheim … Continue reading Tragedy and Comedy
What Happened
I’ve thought a lot about it, and here’s my best explanation. During orientation week at Penn State I took some placement tests, and I ended up placing out of the introductory English composition course. I also took a Latin test, and I was surprised when I heard the results: I had placed into Latin IV. … Continue reading What Happened
Death of an Alleged Sexual Predator
There’s an obituary for Richard Glanton, who died of a heart attack at 79, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and buried in the eleventh paragraph is this little nugget: He ended a workplace sexual harassment suit with a private settlement in the early 1990s What a way to bury one of the stories that had the … Continue reading Death of an Alleged Sexual Predator
The Autumn of My Discontent
Carl and I were both looking forward to the Genetics course in September of 1970. He was taking it because it was required for his Biology major; I was taking it as an elective because I thought it was an interesting topic. We each walked out of the first lecture totally discouraged. The prof was … Continue reading The Autumn of My Discontent
Animal Free Zone
A few blocks from me there is a fenced-in playground where people have been taking their dogs in the early morning to allow them to run free and play. Later in the day, children are active in a variety of sports activities. Recently I noticed a sign on the fence. I think that sign is … Continue reading Animal Free Zone
My War with the City
All right, it’s not really a war. It merely feels like one. It all started when I bought this house six years ago. My realtor warned me that I was paying too much, but I had my reasons. I was anxious to get out of Center City. I liked living in Center City, and it … Continue reading My War with the City
The Jews Next Door
The townhouse apartment at 737 Southgate Drive seemed like a dream. I got there a few days ahead of the other guys in September 1970, as I couldn’t wait to move in. I remember being in my car going for groceries when the radio reported the news that Jimi Hendrix had died. We all brought … Continue reading The Jews Next Door
The Sheep in the Meadow
I finally got around to watching The Sheep Detectives. I loved it. The movie has a fairly long genesis. A woman by the name of Leonie Swann wrote a mystery entitled Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi that was published in Germany in 2005. It became an international best seller and is better known in English speaking lands as … Continue reading The Sheep in the Meadow
All That Jazz
I can get jazz music on several different radio stations on the Radio App that I mentioned a while back, but they all either have commercial breaks or other interruptions of some sort. I wanted some unbroken jazz. There are a lot to choose from. I selected two. Both of them are on my Apple … Continue reading All That Jazz