I was watching a documentary on Kurt Vonnegut the other night. There’s a scene where they take him back to his high school, to the plaque with alumni killed in World War Two. He identifies those he knew, recounting and laughing about how they died. Laughing, obviously, in a “so it goes” way, but still. …
Author Archives: Pete
My Funny Valentine
I go for a walk every day during 5th period, when my students are at lunch. I walk along the Mystic River for a bit, then turn back and return to school across the fields. I started this habit last year and now can’t do without. It’s especially important on the first three days of …
Degustation
I like saltines a lot. I don’t keep them in the house because I’d go through sleeves in a sitting. I like Coca-Cola, too. I hardly ever drink it, in deference to my teeth and sublime physique, but whenever I do I think it’s tasty stuff. *** Years ago I heard an interview on …
Bonne Digestion
My friend Steve came to visit last weekend. He’s been living in the Congo for years and speaks French really well. Me… comme ci, comme ça. So when, after Sunday’s lunch, he broke into song, I wasn’t sure I’d heard properly, for as best I could tell it went: I have eaten well / I …
Top Jimmy
1968: the assassinations of MLK and RFK, riots, the My Lai Massacre, the Tet Offensive, famine in Biafra, the invasion of Czechoslovakia, the founding of the Khmer Rouge, four submarines mysteriously lost with all hands… And then, on Christmas Eve, William Anders snapped this photo. As a telegram to his crewmate put it: “Thank you …
One Hundred One Score and One
This year is resolved to not go quietly; nor shall I thusly see it out. I’m going to make some Charles Mingus Eggnog. If delivery would cause no more than (my) moderate inconvenience, let me know and I’ll bring a cup of cheer. Pending any being left. Either way, I leave you with the wisdom …
Sunshine Supermen
A few days ago an RAF fighter plane crashed after takeoff from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. It may have been because of a lens cap. The pilot is safe, but, if they do payroll deductions, his checking account is not. F-35s ain’t cheap. *** There’s a BBC series from 1981 called Fighter Pilot. …
Thanksgiving
When I get home from school I empty my pockets of the day’s accumulation: notes, paper clips, pens, etc. Sometimes I think about an interview I read with the drummer of the Rolling Stones. It was a questionnaire-type thing, a mix of serious and silly questions. One was “What do you have in your pockets?” …