Personal
Sins of the father
by David Benjamin “The stories of young men searching for their fathers are the stories of young men who through their adventures father themselves by doing for themselves what they hoped a father would do for them.” —William S. Wilson “Someone once said that every man is trying to live up to his father’s expectations…
Read MorePrivy counsel
by David Benjamin “… conservatives … argue that the crisis in Americasn schools is … about leftist teachers propagandizing on critical race theory and giving kids new pronouns while denying them safe bathrooms.” —Nicholas Kristoff, The New York Times MADISON, Wis.—In Nicholas Kristoff’s eloquent assessment of the real problem with American public schools, I…
Read MoreThe pain and purgation of Paris guilt
by David Benjamin “… Even the pigeons are dancing, kissing, going in circles, mounting each other. Paris is the city of love, even for the birds …” ― Samantha Schutz PARIS — We were barely awake yesterday before we were plunging through Métro tunnels, beneath the Seine, resurfacing at the place de la…
Read MoreParis in an American
by David Benjamin “They’ll never want to see a rake or plow/ And who the deuce can parleyvous a cow?/ How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm/ After they’ve seen Paree?” ―Sam Lewis & Joe Young PARIS — Among my grandfather Archie’s four brothers, my favorite was Uncle Harry, partly because…
Read MoreBarefoot in the past
by David Benjamin “You can burn my house, steal my car/ Drink my liquor from an old fruit-jar/ Do anything that you want to do/ But uh-uh baby, lay off of my shoes/ Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.” ―Carl Perkins MADISON, Wis.— One of my guilty pleasures is Emile Ardolino’s sneaky-smart…
Read MoreAn open letter to my high-school best friend
by David Benjamin Dear Dick: At long last, I’m writing to apologize for mooching my way, uninvited and unwashed, into your life and the bosom of your family. If you recall, it all started one summer day in 1964, when I mounted my bicycle and pedaled the three miles from a cramped, cluttered and…
Read MoreThe little girl on the scooter and the feminine aesthetic
by David Benjamin “… And when she passes, each one she passes, goes “Aah’… ” —Vinícius de Moraes & Norman Gimbel. “The Girl from Ipanema” MADISON, Wis.—She was two blocks ahead and I was busy driving. But for a moment I froze, fascinated, drawing a testy honk when the light went green. Normally,…
Read MoreThe things you carry
by David Benjamin “Never meet your heroes.” —Leroy Jethroe Gibbs, Rule #73 MADISON, Wis.—“Do you have a pen?” This is a question to which I’ve never said, “No.” Pens are among the things I carry. To some degree, each of us is defined by the accessories we take along, wherever we go. Likewise, forgetting…
Read MoreI want my flag back, and so does Richard Stanz
by David Benjamin “I shuddered to think that while we wanted that flag dragged into the mud and sullied beyond repair, we also wanted it pristine, its white stripes, summer cloud white. Watching it wave in the breeze of a distance made us nearly choke with emotion. It lifted us up with its promise and…
Read MoreThe sound of love (or maybe just juvenile infatuation)
by David Benjamin “For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.” — John Greenleaf Whittier MADISON, Wis. — Lately, I’ve been haunted my the memory of a girl who broke my heart 54 years ago. I suffer these pangs of nostalgia because my car has a compact…
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