I need a corned beef sandwich, on rye, with cole slaw and Russian dressing — now! I just finished reading an advanced copy of David Sax’s marvelous book, “Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen,” and now I can’t shake my hankering for my favorite […]
Category: Personal
Jews, Muslims and America
I had a great experience this week hearing two inspirational friends of mine read from their new books. They both dug into an area of personal interest and wound up illuminating a fascinating history that can teach us all something important. Frances Dinkelspiel started looking into her family history, and found 50 boxes of papers […]
The virtues, and sins, of editing
As a writer, length has always been important. As a newspaper reporter, I tended to write long stories, trying to cram in every detail I had gathered. As a freelance writer, I’m frequently paid by the word. I love long-form journalism, and am enjoying writing for magazines and dreaming up book projects. Yet I struggle with […]
Omar, Barry and me
For some, the San Francisco Giants‘ last homestand of 2007 is a sad affair. The team is closing out the season in last place, and many of the players won’t be back. For me, though, I’m having the time of my life. I have an assignment from San Francisco magazine to write a story for […]
What the world needs now
… is yet another blog. Realizing the lunacy of such an assertion, I’m going to be keeping this site pretty spare. But I will make occasional posts, hoping to satisfy a few goals: 1, to keep anyone who cares informed about what I’m working on; 2, to get the hang of this blogosphere thing; […]