Gerry Goldstein

A holiday observance is almost upon us, and in view of testimony about “The Big Lie” at the Jan. 6 hearings, it couldn’t be approaching at a more appropriate time. But I’m not referring to July 4, with all its fanfare and home-grilled Whoppers. I’m talking about July 7, a day set aside for eschewing […]

Decades ago my daughter, Jennifer, brought home from elementary school a hand-made Father’s Day poster on which she had listed what she considered my attributes as a dad. Among these was a statement that summed me up in a fashion others might consider modest. Her assessment: “He is never rotton.” Aside from its rotten spelling, […]

With the pandemic running our lives the past few years, times have been tough for those wanting to marry amid festive ceremony — but a boom is anticipated for 2022, and June should be a busy month at the altar and in the courthouse. What’s the allure of June? Nice weather, of course, but more […]

On Facebook recently, a posting drew thousands of comments when it asked readers to “Kill me with one bad English.” This tortured request came – likely by coincidence – in April, which happens to be National English Language Month, an observance geared toward celebrating our Mother Tongue.  One responder pretty much-summed things up by advising […]

I’d be willing to wager – and I’m optimistic I’d win the bet – that you don’t know March is “National Optimism Month.” Websites galore make reference to it without mentioning how and when this low-profile annual observance got started, but it’s especially appropriate in 2022. So don’t take the pessimistic view that you’ve missed […]

So here we are contemplating the start of a new year, the time for making resolutions, and I’m in firm agreement with the unidentified, cheeky sage who once mused, “I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I didn’t become a better person.” Getting off the dime is easier said than done, as most of […]

It’s holiday season, and what could be more delightful than savoring Grandma’s chocolate-covered brownies? Helpful spirit that I am (and since Dec. 8 actually happens to be – no lie – National Brownie Day), I’m gifting grandmas everywhere this year with a fail-safe recipe for these treats from an unimpeachable source: the United States Department […]

Here at Shalom Acres, our little hobby farm in Greenville’s Apple Valley, the leaves are mostly fallen, we’ve had a couple of hard frosts, and our once-lush vegetable gardens are barren – a combination that for some might seem depressing. But wait. In all this there is pending rebirth and promise at the darkest time of […]

This is the time of year when traditionally, youngsters contemplate novel ways to be terrifying.  One suspects few could generate the enthusiasm of Exeter’s Lewis E. Peck Jr., whose Halloween hi-jinks were matchless. Of course, he had lots of experience refining his act, since he kept it going well into his sixties. Peck had reasons […]

Three times in recent weeks, a person has been swept from the rocks into perilous waters.

Someone recently posted on Facebook a cartoon in which talking horses were participating in a “Gallop” poll.  As you might imagine, this unleashed a flurry of responses using similar wordplay, many of them certifiable groaners. Among these offenders was mine, but don’t forward it anywhere – it’s not, strictly speaking, what I wish to be known for. […]

I’m wide awake, but am I “woke?” And if I am “woke,” is that good or bad? Such are the dilemmas we face as social media and malicious politics spawn new ways for us to praise and insult one another – sometimes using the same new word for both purposes. Suddenly, we’re awash in coinages, […]

I was saddened to read in the New York Times recently that a canary in the coal mine has died. And a true songbird he was, filling Carnegie Hall in 1966 with his guitar and his blues before chucking his abbreviated fame and embracing the tranquility of rural Perryville in South Kingstown. This was more […]