The Best Men Before I moved to Providence a friend quizzed me on my plan to move 1,000 miles away. "Well I guess it will be me, a U-haul, and a car trailer." "Do you …
May 25, 2006
North America
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
Mayor Takes Office Crew to Washington
This week Mayor Jerry Sanders traveled to Washington, D.C., for the third time since becoming San Diego's mayor. The trip was less extensive than the mayor's second visit to the capital, at the end of …
May 25, 2006
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
At the Queen's Table My grandmother once told me, "Through 59 years of marriage, Jeremy, I never once considered leaving your grandfather." She shrugged her shoulders, folded her hands, and added, "I did consider murder …
May 18, 2006
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
Dog and Pony Show On a dreary Saturday with rain in the forecast and nowhere to go, Rhiana and I decided to practice dancing for our wedding. I queued up the music files in the …
May 11, 2006
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
Cornfield Playgrounds The cornfield I grew up playing in is gone. On a recent visit to my hometown, I looked into the early morning sunrise over a street of designer brick ranches. While walking through …
May 4, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Swing Low Tonight is melancholy, but I can't imagine why. I am coming home from a party and I smell like second-hand smoke and, in the cool air, it's not so bad, an almost comforting …
April 27, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Don't Call Me Muffinhead I got a call from my old friend Julia the other night. She was on her way to a triathlon swimming class and, after a short aquatics-themed chat, we lapsed onto …
April 20, 2006
The Brief History of the Dead: A Novel
The Brief History of the Dead: A Novel by Kevin Brockmeier. Pantheon, 2006; $22.95; 252 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: "Remember me when I'm gone" just took on a whole new meaning. The City is …
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
It's a Wrap It is one of the first sunny days in this godforsaken town. I roll up my sleeves, glance into the empty expanse of the U-Haul, and think, Finally, I am a real …
April 13, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
The Producer It's 2 p.m. and I'm back in bed, computer propped on my blanket-covered knees, one hand on the keyboard and the other hand on the phone. I am wearing my customary morning costume …
April 6, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Tucked In And Terrified Surprise, surprise. I can't sleep. I made a valiant effort, though. I went to bed at 11:30 to the sounds of my computer playing cheery sitcoms on loop and my ocean-waves, …
March 30, 2006
Bus Bash
For the past 30 years, Larry has been traveling south of the border to party on his birthday. He and his friend Mary McDonald charter a bus and pile all their friends into it for …
March 23, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Bad with Girls One evening in Brooklyn, feeling enterprising, I wandered into the kitchen and sat down on the chaise lounge opposite my father, who was parked in his favorite reading chair. "Dad?" I said. …
March 16, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Nasty Old Bird It was my aunt's truncated e-speak -- in which she disregards all conventions of grammar -- that informed me my maternal grandmother was dying, and I suppose that made it...blander, less impacting. …
March 9, 2006
Rosa Jurjevics in Boston
Dispatch from Beantown I don't like Boston. I don't like this crummy pickle I got at the convenience store downstairs, and I don't like this town. It has taken me four years, but I have …
March 2, 2006