Curations from the Human Jungle
[This is an excerpt from "Extra-Ordinary," the self-published account of my astoundingly normal life. The link to the original appears just below, followed by a reprint of the article in full. This is the story of when I told major league Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez that he didn't know how to throw a curve... Continue Reading →
[Some people just show up at a certain time in your life when you most need them. For me, it was just before entering sixth grade. Living in a new house in a new city and state, and getting ready to enter a new school, I needed a new friend. Enter Alan Hassenfeld. Alan wasn't... Continue Reading →
[I can't identify the handsome couple featured in our header, but they sure look like they were sent over from Central Casting. Another excerpt from the autobiography, called Extra-Ordinary: A Step-by-Step Memoir, published in Silverback Digest, 2024. SB SM] https://silverbackdigest.com/2024/06/13/chapter-12-may-day-1970/ It’s 9:17 am on March 26, 2024 in San Miguel de Allende when an old... Continue Reading →
[When we reach the Silverback stage of life, we want to tell our stories. And so it was that I told mine on the "pages" of Silverback Digest. This chapter focuses on my life circa 1970 when I briefly crossed paths with a few people who later became prominent in our worlds of culture. I,... Continue Reading →
["There is no bottom," said a wise Silverback, referring to the current political scene. There is, however, for this particular great ape, who found the ground still frozen and not a daffodil in sight as he set off to supposedly plant peas. Oh well, "the cruelest month" ends today, and tomorrow will bring May's flowers.... Continue Reading →
[Remember the Dumpster? I am The Dumpster, or "je suis Le Dumpstere." This is my cooking persona, my nom de spatula. It's time to revisit some of these summer cooking classics, and to add a new one (but not today). SB SM] https://silverbackdigest.com/2021/06/21/summer-in-the-north-country/#more-5111
[This is it, Dear Reader, the final installment in this account of one extra-ordinary life. If you've taken the journey with me over the past few weeks, let me know how the experience has been for you. It's taken me 76 years to live this life (so far) and several years to put it into... Continue Reading →
It’s time to wrap this sucker up, or, as I say in my epic rap, “Autobio-graffiti,” “The kids are grown and doing fine, from here I see the finish line.” Notice the small window at right, reflecting the sunset over Gilead. It's symbolic of something or other, not sure what. No employees No Board of... Continue Reading →
Del Shannon was one of my heroes. No one ever said Del was cool. I got to meet many of my heroes along the way — Del Shannon, Bobby Orr, Carlton Fisk, Bill “Spaceman” Lee. And I got to meet so many people who became personal heroes—Irving Greenblatt, Duncan Syme and Murray Howell, John Schaeffer,... Continue Reading →
Sandy and I began our lives together at The Parsonage, located on Gilead Brook Road in Bethel, Vermont. We're not similar people at all. The phrase "Vive La Difference" gets invoked a lot in this household. She's a perfectionist. I am, to use an Italian word that I can't find in Google translate, brucchiamata. It... Continue Reading →