Essays
1093 results
Page 60
Memories of Philadelphia's countess
Our lady in London: The countess who saved Franklin's last house
Lady Mary Bessborough was a native Philadelphian, a British countess and above all a woman with a sense of history in the best meaning of that term.
Essays
2 minute read
Portrait of a survivor
Mom's survival secret: You can't and shouldn't go home again
My mother endured extreme poverty, dysfunctional relationships and traumatic upheavals. Yet wherever life took her for 91 years, she carried a quiet dignity within her own head.
Essays
8 minute read
Heart attack, Part 9: One last implant
A surgery to end all surgeries (or so we hope)
The stress test showed my heart had missed three beats. Skip another second or two, and— bang!”“ you're gone. Dr. M recommended an Internal Cardiac Defibrillator. Adele and I loved her. But if we never saw another hospital”¦
Artful neglect: The Philadelphia Cultural Fund
Philadelphia's Cultural Fund: Friend of the arts, or foe?
The city-funded Philadelphia Cultural Fund is a rare source of operating support for dozens of small arts groups that lack professional development staffs and access to rich donors. But the Fund itself is strapped for cash. Worse, it's promoting the very sort of corporate mindset it was meant to eliminate.
Essays
6 minute read
Don't call me old!
The best is yet to come: Thinking outside the old-age box
Just think: A 60-year-old in reasonable health will likely have 25 years more on this planet. It's time we started thinking of age 60 as a beginning, not an end.
Essays
6 minute read
Public libraries and the homeless
Give me your tired, your poor: A new role for public libraries
Instead of chasing the homeless out of their facilities and into the streets, some public libraries have begun reaching out to them. This is one of those counter-intuitive strategies that could go a long way to solving a chronic social headache.
Essays
3 minute read
PIFA's "Time Machine' at the Kimmel Center
Brave new world
Is that a “Time Machine” dominating the Kimmel Center's lobby? Or is it Big Brother? What's the proper balance between art and marketing?
Essays
3 minute read
"Being white in Philly' (a response)
Blaming the messenger about the elephant in the room
Why is Philadelphia Magazine being pilloried at the city's highest levels for simply telling a story about how some white people honestly, timidly and uncomfortably feel, rightly or wrongly, about some black people?
Essays
5 minute read
Growing up with Mother Nature
All creatures, great and small (not to mention sharks and spiders)
Mom wasn't one of those overprotective parents who tell their kids, “Don't bring that in here!” Luckily for me, she applied the principles of tolerance and diversity to animals as well as people.
Essays
6 minute read
The day I realized I'd changed
When love sneaks up on you, or: The rest of my life starts now
During a raucous escape weekend with an old childhood buddy, I suddenly realized I'd really rather be home with my wife. Exactly when did that happen?
Essays
4 minute read