A catalog of the stuff in my apartment
A supposedly good book that I do not especially like is My Dog Tulip, J.R. Ackerley’s well-regarded 1956 memoir about his beloved German shepherd. If you ask me, way too many pages have to do with trying to get the dog laid. I did, however, find this part moving: … what strained and anxious lives […]
Over the last decade, a bunch of states, including three of the four where I have been a resident—my home state of Arkansas as well as Illinois and Massachusetts—have enacted laws requiring public schools to teach students cursive. (The fourth Zac-affiliated state is New York, which has no such requirement.) In the case of Arkansas, […]
I received a fair amount of Dolly Parton merch for Christmas. I got to interview the country legend in the fall for a travel story I did on Dollywood, so I guess my loved ones were still associating me with her in their minds. I am not complaining. One of the Dolly-related items I got […]
Are there any fitness or wellness apps with workout videos featuring trainers who aren’t relentlessly encouraging? The trainers on the app I use, Apple Fitness+, act like I’m a national hero on the order of Harvey Milk just for doing burpees. I find such positivity inauthentic and off-putting. Just once I’d like for a fitness […]
I used to have a CD that had a whole bunch of old TV commercial jingles on it. I assume this compilation was put on the market in an attempt to capitalize on the nostalgia of baby boomers. Somebody gave me the CD as a gift when I was age 12 or so. I had […]
My husband, Frank, has a bulky blue cooler he keeps around in case we go on any outings that require cold beverages. Beach days, picnics, that sort of thing. When we lived in New York City I was a strong advocate for getting rid of the cooler because it took up precious closet space that […]
During the summers of my childhood when my parents signed me up for baseball (contrary to my wishes, talents, and fragile sense of self-worth), my triumphs on the field and in the batter’s box were small in number. I was scared of the ball, couldn’t throw, couldn’t hit, and, frankly, didn’t have the firmest grasp […]
The front of the holiday card my husband, Frank, and I sent out this year features a photo of us in front of some evergreens. The location where the image was captured is just outside of our apartment building. Full disclosure: The boughs over my head were digitally enhanced to appear fuller than they did […]
In Portugal’s medieval legend of the Barcelos rooster, an innocent man is found guilty of theft and sentenced to hang. But before the execution, the guy persuades the authorities to let him see the judge while the latter is having dinner. As Portugal’s official tourism website tells it, the condemned man points “to a roast […]
Every day after I finish up work (I work from home), I carry out what I call the Five o’Clock Tidy Up. This involves going from room to room in my apartment and, as you might have guessed, tidying things up. There are housekeeping tasks that have to be undertaken on a daily basis—kitchen counters […]
Indirect Objects 