generations- Page 5

Earlier this fall, I attended an event that 28-year-old me would have scoffed at: a non-alcoholic Oktoberfest. Sponsored by Dray, Boston’s first non-alcoholic (NA) bottle shop, the event had all the traditions you’d expect — pretzels, sausages, lederhosen — but not a…

The dog has her needs, just like the rest of us; but unlike the rest of us, every one of them is met with promptness and adoration. Many mornings, for instance, she wants to stroll through Rock Meadow conservation land, past the…

Somehow we had ended up in a crowded cafe, surrounded by densely packed tables and a sea of glowing laptop screens. Espresso machines hissed and baristas barked out orders, but the overwhelming sound was the robotic click of keyboard keys. The afternoon…

Until a few weeks ago, I would have full-heartedly recommended the nearby gourmet shop’s cinnamon bread to you. I would have served you a toasted slice without butter: naked bread, nothing but proud flavor, sold only twice a week in the store…

For the Gen Xers, seniors, or even Millennials reading this column, how often have you caught yourself saying, “I’m getting too old for that?” Once a month? Once a day? I probably had this thought daily when my kids were younger, and…

You’ve probably heard by now that Belmont High School has banned the use of phones during class. Believe me, it’s all anyone is talking about at school. BHS administrators are probably already studying the effectiveness of the ban — that is, its…

He was a lively and informative young man—well-mannered, too, stamping his work boots on the bottom step to loosen dirt and mud. A company logo was embroidered on his shirt pocket and across the front of his baseball cap, but I didn’t…

When Belmont High School students Shea Brams and Francesca Kitch were in the Climate Action Club back in 2020, they had the germ of an idea: a garden of native plants on the grounds of the newly built school. They didn’t imagine…

One of the sorrows of age is growing old enough to have lost touch with others. One of the pleasures is being young enough to find them again. During the pandemic, when we all individualized our forms of escape, I began writing…