Clik here to view.
Law Practice: Shining Shoes, Lugging Golf Clubs and Hauling Garbage
The young lawyer. Photo courtesy Bob Smith. BY BOB SMITH I’ve been practicing law for almost 30 years, and am now a partner in the intellectual property group of a large New Jersey law firm. Though the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My “Torch Song” to Sondheim
There’s Frank – second from right. Photo courtesy Frank Terranella. BY FRANK TERRANELLA Recently I attended one of those cultural events that only happen in New York. The New York Philharmonic played...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Mom’s Dementia: Foggy Memory, Charred Pots, and a Cheshire Smile
Art by Abby Smith. BY BOB SMITH Mom, now 86, is still physically robust. Granted, she’s unsteady on stairs and can’t lift anything heavier than a magazine or cup of tea, but her appetite is great. She...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Have a Doppelganger in Denmark
My cousin Frank. BY FRANK TERRANELLA Thanks to an invitation to lecture in Copenhagen, I recently was reunited with my first cousin for the first time in 40 years. And here’s the kicker – his name is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Sneak Peek at Boy Scout Memories From a Non-Scout
Boys checking out scouts. Collage by Julie Seyler BY BOB SMITH Scouting made a big impression on me during grade school and high school, but not in the ways you might think. In the early 1960s, when we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Stored in My Memory Bank: The Pink Pig, Dad’s Silver “Washers”
Photo courtesy Etsy.com. By Anthony Buccino Dad was a carpenter, and each week he gave me the washers from his pay envelope. I’d plunk them onto my piggy bank. Yeah, that’s right, washers as in nuts,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Snapshot of Mom’s Old Brown Box Camera
BY BOB SMITH I remember as a boy, playing in the snow with my big brother. Bulky as astronauts, we wore heavy coats, wool hats, mittens and insulated boots. There was a foot of snow in our front yard...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Serendipity: Don’t Look, and You Will Find It
Be open to the unexpected on the road ahead. Photo by Julie Seyler. BY FRANK TERRANELLA I believe in the power of serendipity. The dictionary defines serendipity as, “the phenomenon of finding valuable...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My 1964 Ford Galaxie: A “Great White Boat” of a Car
A Ford under a galaxy of stars. By Julie Seyler. BY BOB SMITH In 1973, when I was 18, I got my first car: a white 1964 four-door Ford Galaxie 500 sedan that weighed in at nearly 4000 pounds. My...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Time Warp in Copenhagen: Counterculture Thrives in Christiania
In Christiania, it’s 1973 all over again. BY FRANK TERRANELLA Back in the summer of 1973, I attended a concert in Jersey City that was my closest meet-up with the hippie counterculture of the time. It...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Easter: Pagans, Peeps, Good Eggs, and a Bad Bunny
To me, the Easter Bunny is not a good egg. BY BOB SMITH The Bible, apparently, doesn’t discuss Easter in any detail. Or Christmas, for that matter. In fact, some believe the holiday is derived from a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s All Relative: I’m Counting the Ways I Can Die
Some of my relatives were here. And then there. Photo by Julie Seyler. BY BOB SMITH As I approach 60, I can’t help but speculate about how I’m going to leave this world. It’s not a morbid...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Sixth, Zero-Birthday, and Counting (On Two Hands)
It’s my birthday. BY FRANK TERRANELLA Fingers. We have 10 of them. So ancient people decided that our numbering system would be based on 10 – one number for each finger. I bring this up because it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Boiler Number 3: A Blast (of Soot, Sweat, and Broken Spirits) from the Past
Bob and the boiler. Mixed media. Julie Seyler BY BOB SMITH When my brother’s friend told us he knew a guy who would pay us $50 a day to clean boilers at some factory in Hackensack, it sounded too good...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When an Old Box Camera Gives You Bulbs, Make Vases
Flash bulb vases. Made and photographed by Bob Smith. BY BOB SMITH At the old family house in Cresskill, I found a dusty yellow box bearing the name Kodak DUAFLEX IV Flash Outfit. It was that brown box...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Boomers Rocked AM Radio in the ’60s
Transistor Head. Collaged drawing by Julie Seyler. BY FRANK TERRANELLA The Baby Boomer generation has some terrible PR. Most people see us as the selfish “Me Generation” – idealists who sold out. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Cicadas are Coming (Again). The Cicadas are Coming (Again). And I’m Not...
The cicadas are coming. Drawing/photocollage by Julie Seyler. BY BOB SMITH It’s an entomological Paul Revere moment: the cicadas are coming. Every 17 years these giant, ugly bugs burrow out of their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Same Awe at Magazine Centerfold, Just Different Limbs
Quite the spread. BY BOB SMITH National Geographic magazine is famous for its often remarkable high-quality photos. I recently picked up an old issue that was lying around the house, and found a story...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My History of Rock ‘N’ Roll
Stairs to Music Heaven. By Julie Seyler. BY FRANK TERRANELLA On a previous post I mentioned that I thought that rock music was one of our generation’s greatest gifts to society. Now, the first thing I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Day at JFK Museum, and Feeling as Old as History
BY BOB SMITH The centerpiece of the JFK Museum in Dallas is the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository, where Lee Harvey Oswald is believed (by many) to have fired the shots that ended President...
View Article
