Posts tagged as:

Providence

MARCH: the third month of the year; the end of winter; the beginning of early spring

March 1, 2013

This morning I pulled the pin from the wall, flipped the calendar page from February to March, and settled back into my chair to celebrate the beginning of “early spring” in Providence.   Last Sunday we stopped outside the entrance to our parish church where there had been two feet of snow just two weeks ago.  [...]

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MEMORIAL: an object to reflect the memory of someone, such as a plaque or tombstone

February 26, 2013

Every day I go through an intersection at the corner of Smith Street and Oakland Street in Providence.  It is just an ordinary intersection joining two streets in the Smith Hill section of the city, just up the hill from the State House.  It is a mixed use neighborhood with multi-family homes, offices, and a [...]

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WELL, HERE IT IS, POSTING NUMBER 1,000. Remember that if you comment on this posting, your name will be put into a hat and one name will be selected to win a Starbucks gift card!

August 29, 2012

______________________________________________________________________   Clearing the Air   In reading over the past 999 posts it occurs to me that I have skirted the issue on some posts, trying not to upset people I know would disagree with me.   It’s been convenient to use euphemisms from time to time to avoid outright disagreement with people.   Reading over [...]

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SOUPÇON: [soop-SAWN]: a hint of something

June 1, 2012

I’m not really fond of garlic.   I know that living in Providence means that I’m now a target for some really serious body damage on a dark night.   This is the world’s capital for Italian food, featuring some of the best Italian restaurants in existence.   But, even though my life is now in danger, I [...]

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COLUMBUS DAY: a confusing holiday

October 10, 2011

The other day I was in Newport and spotted a statue in a little park downtown.*  I had never seen it before, so I walked up closer, only to discover that it was a statue of Christopher Columbus.  Beneath the bronze statue was a plaque which identified Columbus as “The Founder of America.”     Hmmm. [...]

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HONKFEST: a street festival of activist street musicians

October 4, 2011

Well, first of all you have to know what a Street Band is.  As I understand it, a Street Band is a spontaneous group of really fine musicians of all stripes who play in public places … almost spontaneously.  I liken them to the street performers I enjoyed in San Francisco who sang, played, danced, [...]

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WATERFIRE: a magnificent environmental art form in Providence

May 29, 2011

One of the more incredible advantages of living in Providence, Rhode Island , is the ability to participate in Waterfire throughout the warmer season of the year.  The best way to describe it is to quote from its webpage: This award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence, has been [...]

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MITIGATE: to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate*

May 27, 2011

What does one do when he discovers, as a newly-elected mayor of a medium-sized city, that the current annual budget deficit is one hundred million dollars?   Information available prior to the election had led everyone, including the new mayor, to believe that the city was struggling, but holding its own.  To the contrary, the actual [...]

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SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION: the concept that at the most, there are only six levels of relationship betweeen all living persons

December 15, 2010

While Ocean State residents tend to think it is a local phenomenon, it is clear that connectedness or relationship  is not restricted to people who live in  Rhode Island.   It is understood by all Ocean State residents that the concept of “Six Degrees of Separation” is not unique to the movies or to the [...]

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LEITMOTIF: an often repeated word, phrase, image, or theme

November 8, 2010

In the New York Times Magazine yesterday the weekly column, “The Way We Live” featured a piece by Christopher Caldwell called “Fantasy Politics.” In this very insightful article Caldwell comments on the leitmotif character of the term, “The American Dream,” heard in speeches during the recent mid-term elections.   In one case, a candidate from Florida, [...]

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