Read more about the article Presidential history on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River
FDR's Springwood mansion in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Presidential history on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River

By Mark Marchand It’s near the end of another typical day for this man living on the east side of the Hudson River in the first half of the 20th century. After long hours in meetings, he propels himself and his wheelchair slowly toward the tiniest room on the first floor of his house. He rolls into the claustrophobic chamber and pulls an iron gate closed behind him. Turning himself and his chair around, he seizes a thick rope. He pulls it down slowly. His little “room” ascends. Together, he and his…

Continue ReadingPresidential history on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River
Read more about the article A library and opera house on the international frontier
Sitting directly on top of the U.S.-Canada border in northern Vermont, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House has been serving readers, visitors, and show-goers for over a century.

A library and opera house on the international frontier

Visiting the only library that sits atop an international border. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House sits directly on the U.S.-Canada border in northern Vermont.

Continue ReadingA library and opera house on the international frontier
Read more about the article Road tripping west in post-COVID(?) summer of 2021
The route I took last summer, between Saratoga, N.Y., and Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (Credit: Google Maps, and my drawing.)

Road tripping west in post-COVID(?) summer of 2021

Last summer I set out from my home in upstate NY to search for an America readjusting to life as the COVID wildfire slowed down. Just as I was about to depart on a celebratory, wandering road trip through seven states the Delta variant began sweeping our country. I went anyway. Below is the first chapter of a four-part series on my sojourn. Like many of my road trips across America, it was a fun excursion— but the worsening news about COVID was an overhang on my mood, haunting me each mile along the way.

Continue ReadingRoad tripping west in post-COVID(?) summer of 2021
Read more about the article ‘Get(ting) Back’ in touch with The Beatles
Me, Joe, Ed, and Phil in front of the famous Beatles statue by the waterfront in Liverpool, England.

‘Get(ting) Back’ in touch with The Beatles

We took them for granted for too many years. That’s my personal theory about what’s happening now as the world starts watching the unique three-part “Get Back" documentary on the Disney + streaming service. The mini-series marks the first time we’ll get an intimate peek inside one of the last rehearsing/recording sessions The Beatles conducted, this one in January 1969. The video and transcripts of the sessions have been hidden away in vaults for over a half century. Noted director Peter Jackson spent several years parsing the material and finally assembled the…

Continue Reading‘Get(ting) Back’ in touch with The Beatles