You momentarily forget where you set down your keys — and you just happen to be over fifty years of age — and you can already hear in your mind the jokes that will ensue: you’re having a “senior moment,” you’ve got “old-timer’s,” or “well, age happens.” If scientists are …
“Wish you were here.” It’s the archetypal message on a picture postcard, sent from a friend or family member in some far-off holiday or vacation spot. In fact, the expression has become so cliché that you can now find postcards with the sentiment already preprinted. Despite the commonness of it, …
Like a soft, stretched-out sweater you’ve had for decades or a faded, well-worn jean jacket, I have a favorite pair of slacks. They earned my esteem not because of a fantastic fit, a comfortable fabric, or a trendy style. I like them mostly because of a small label that’s sewn …
Sitting on a pretty hilltop on the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland, there’s a little bed-and-breakfast in the quiet, seaside village of Trinity. I stayed there one night, in the summer of 2007, surrounded by meadows and the Atlantic Ocean. The room I occupied had polished-wood floors, a down comforter on …
What do musk oxen in Greenland, sea turtles in the Caribbean and whales off Argentina’s Peninsula Valdes have in common? Well, if you guessed that you could see them all with Explorers’ Corner, you’d be right, but that’s ultimately not the most important trait they share. These wild animals, along …
I like bumpy roads. Not the ones permeated with potholes big enough to break an axle or skew tires out of alignment, but the “washboard” ones that make your teeth rattle, your words vibrate, and your backside tingle when you drive over them. I like bumpy roads because they force …