The liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation began with the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. This wartime saga has fascinated me since I read Is Paris Burning as a young man. The 1965 book, by Larry Collins and Domique Lapierre, dramatizes Paris’s narrow escape from Hitler’s orders to destroy the city …
The brotherhood of men is not spoken; it is felt. We feel its undercurrent with all men, but most strongly with our friends. For most men, I imagine, our closest friends are some of our oldest; Pete and I go back decades. I know him and his life story; he knows me and mine. But …
Stephen Crane’s civil war novel, The Red Badge of Courage, his best-known work, was written without his having had battle experience. On the other hand, “The Open Boat,” his best-known short story, is based on his hellacious experience surviving the wreck of the SS Commodore off the coast of Florida on January 2, 1897. Once …
I called you after you died to hear again your ducky voice on the answering machine. For weeks you continued: “This is Will at Bathrooms Restored, please leave a message after the beep.” But I never did. What was there to say? Even before – what was there to say? You used to call first …