Two Islands: England and Eel Pie Island
London in the early sixties; a backdrop of rhythm and blues music on a small island in the River Thames; some forgotten insights into those days. Anglers have fished along the banks of the River Thames since time immemorial. “Did yer catch anything?” is a common greeting to these surly folk. “Naw, not today. Had a few bites.” Nothing has changed with them ― neither their keep nets, fishing rods, Thermos flask of tea, gruff speech patterns nor the fish they seek: dace, perch, roach and eel. They dislike the latter because it tangles fishing line. For most anglers the...
Read MoreThe Last Taboo
We have been conditioned not to talk about it. We have had women’s liberation, sex revolution, workers’ revolution; we can talk about everything now — the toilet is the last taboo which must be broken. — Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation In his In Praise of Shadows, Junichirō Tanizaki expounds upon the idea of a Japanese aesthetic sentiment grounded in the nimble shade, the gentle cool corner of the room, the buoyant play of faint shadows: the lightness of light. He laments the development and effect of rude electric lighting and considers phenomena such as the...
Read MoreMy Calderon Years
(Part one of a series) [Synopsis: After several months of scrambling around the New York fashion market in search of an opportunity, as recounted in his previous story “How I Broke Into New York Fashion,” Dean Borok finds employment at Calderon Bags and Belts as an assistant designer, over the heated objections of the company sales manager, Ernie Dornbusch.] It’s impossible to determine what music soothes the savage beast that resides in the heart of New York City, but in 1982 Madonna was perfecting her formula, singing for dollars at the Danceteria Club on West 21st Street....
Read MoreTennis Above the Net
A look at the sport of tennis, with its mannerism and perceptions. Writing about tennis is easy, but playing it well is difficult, and I know if I am too critical of the sport and its players, then I risk not playing very often, as nobody will want to play with me. But since this article does not offer advice on how to improve one’s tennis game, most tennis players are unlikely to read it. Tennis players are interested in only two things: how to improve their game, and their next game. We have all seen one of those 1930’s Agatha Christie plays or films that have 40-year-old couples...
Read MoreThe Broken Cross
(part one of a series) 1 The stone cross lay like a fallen monument on the lawn of Lorrence, New Jersey ’s Holy Trinity Church, the Episcopal parish of my boyhood. For my friends and me, the cross was our pebbled platform — so many pebbles that we wondered how many were sealed together in this ten-foot crucifix barrier between the lawn and walkway to the church’s traditional red door. “I’m thinkin’ twenty thou,” said my friend Joey Wicklund one spring Sunday as we stood on the cross’s two-foot wide base before 9:30...
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