It’s a coin toss which is more damnably confounding – contemporary journalism or contemporary philosophy. Reminded of this conundrum by the latest New Yorker article whooping up Elizabeth Anderson, a University of Michigan philosophy professor, as the great hope for American equality. The 8000-word profile was an exercise in faith building which failed to sway […]
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Festivus to everyone! When I worked as a Santa Claus in Boston in 1977, I met a lot of zany characters including a Boss from Hell who would tell me “go out there & look jolly DAMMIT!” But the most vivid memory is of a mother and daughter who […]
In my wayward youth, I worked one season as a Santa Claus at a Filene’s Department Store in Boston. I wrote up that escapade for the Wall Street Journal in 2011. This piece is an outtake from Public Policy Hooligan – which includes some other details of that gig not fit for a family newspaper. The […]
Forty years ago, my first article in a national publication appeared in the Freeman. This was also the first piece of mine which paid something other than free copies of the periodical. Actually, the five cents a word pay rate was more than enough to cover a month’s rent. The Freeman, published by the Foundation […]
The Northeast is getting whacked by a blizzard, bringing back memories of one of my favorite gigs when I lived in Boston in the late 1970s. Following is an excerpt from the Public Policy Hooligan chapter on “Playing Left Field in Boston.” That chapter begins, “My 1977 move to Boston was akin to the Beverly […]
Here’s a MP3 clip of a zesty December 12th interview on the Good American radio show talking about my gig as a Santa Claus. The host was Charles Rivers and it was broadcast on Cambridge/Boston’s WEMF Radio. We had a fine durn time. For the full story on the Santa gig and other misadventures, see Public Policy Hooligan.
A lot of folks say that freelance writers never do any honest work. Pshaw! I worked as a Santa Claus more than 30 years ago, so that charge doesn’t apply to me. Here’s a repost of a riff that was published in the Wall Street Journal three years ago. I used this story in my memoir essay, […]
