Soup Season Soup is a metaphor for comfort. The warming sensation of a hot bowl of soup on a cold day. The memory of a favorite recipe. A bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is a good choice for lunch at the Souper Market; it also elicits a memory of long ago meals at my grandparents’ home. A can of soup elevated with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan or a bit of bouillon. The grilled cheese with its crisp, toasted bread and melted cheese, sliced into triangles. Read more
Guest Rooms One of my earliest memories of the holidays was traveling to my grandparents’ house. We lived a few hours away, as did my cousins, aunts and uncles. On or around Christmas Day, we would be under the same roof. Small kid logic could resolve how Santa could stop at my house, and find me at Grandma’s, too. He could manage keeping track of naughty and nice kids and manage worldwide deliveries with a sleigh and flying reindeer. Knowing we would be opening presents a day early (or a day late) seemed completely reasonable. Read more
Winter Solstice “A long December and there's reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last” – Counting Crows Heading into December, especially in places like Cleveland, it is easy to see the signs that winter is coming. The days are shorter and cooler than a few weeks ago. The vibrant colors of summer... Read more
Yes, And. . . Fifty years ago, Saturday Night Live had its late-night premiere on NBC. Originally known as NBC’s Saturday Night, the first episode was hosted by George Carlin and featured Billy Preston as a musical guest. Twelve-year-old me was instantly a fan. My parents, not so much. While the format of the show has been relatively stable... Read more
A Lesson in Loss For the past two years, I have had a traveling companion. He’s been on business trips and vacations and family gatherings. He’s been to Austin and Boston, Seattle and Tampa, Detroit and Los Angeles, and many places in between. He is in a lot of photographs from places I have visited. His name is Notch,... Read more
Joy Sandwiches According to the National Peanut Board, the average American will eat more than 3,000 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in their lifetime. Hopefully, with a glass of milk. Peanut butter and jelly can be a great source of protein, carbs, healthy fats and even some fruit. Two slices of bread, peanut butter and grape jelly. A little salty, a little sweet. . . There are web pages, YouTube videos and TikToks devoted to the best way to make and eat them. Read more
An Ode to the OAA The Older Americans Act, or OAA, was established on July 14, 1965. Part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs, the OAA supports the quality of life for older adults in communities across the country. Johnson wrote, “I know of no better way to sum up the vitality and the hope of our programs for older Americans than to report the words of a volunteer worker: ‘We are enabling men and women in their years of retirement to plow their goodness back into the world they helped to build.’” Read more
The People in Your Neighborhood One of the things I love about Cleveland is that it is a city of neighborhoods. A frontier town and port city, Cleveland was built on waves of industry and immigration by people who came here looking for work and a better life. They brought pieces of their past lives with them. The settled in areas defined by the geography of the Cuyahoga River, Lake Erie, the Heights and the canal systems. The evidence of it is everywhere: in the architecture of its churches, in the variety of its cuisine and in the names of communities. Neighborhoods are the building blocks of thriving cities. Read more
In Praise of Alphabet Soup May is Older Americans Month. Most years, this is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of older adults make in our communities, as volunteers and civic leaders. 2025 was the year to celebrate milestones of programs that recognized and affirmed the contributions of older Americans and secured a degree of comfort and dignity for them... Read more
Comfort and Dignity Since its founding in 1908, the Benjamin Rose Institute has addressed the financial challenges faced by older adults. In its first two decades, Benjamin Rose provided modest monthly stipends to “worthy, older adults” to meet their living expenses when illness or misfortune threatened their ability to live with comfort and dignity. These payments, and the... Read more
