Ways of Seeing: Curiosity helps during tough times

When I wrote my most recent Addy Indy column, I was in a state of psychic shock. It was just days after the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas.

In these unbearably long weeks since Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, acts of really listening to one another have been in very short supply.

The harsh reality is that this summer is emerging as a no-holds-barred Climate Chaos Summer.

By the mid-afternoon of June 7th, Manhattan was shrouded in a thick, toxic, orange haze of wildfire-induced particulate matter.

Early spring almost always ushers me into a spirit of possibility.

It may seem blasphemous to write this, but I’m a Jew who loves Advent.

About a year ago, I was invited to be a speaker on a scholarly panel that would address Richard Powers’ much applauded novel, “The Overstory.”

One of the great ironies of my profession is the pervasive feeling that I never have time to read.

Like so many ancient trees in a sacred grove, the titans who have shaped my own history have fallen one by one in a mere matter of weeks: bell hooks, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, E.O. Wilson, Joan Didion, Sarah Weddington, Stephen Sondheim, Betty White and, j … (read more)

This past week was a momentous one in a way that I could have never foreseen: I hugged four friends for the first time in over a year. Of course, all COVID precautions and necessary security clearances were clearly established before any hugging could pro … (read more)

Every Broadway musical theater freak has a dream role. The last time I publicly pronounced mine was during a mic check for the Middlebury Community Players’ 2017 production of “Working.” To ensure that the sound system was functioning properly, each cast … (read more)

“So, what is it like for you?” more than one friend has asked. My response depends on the day, sometimes the hour. “Confusing,” seems like a semi-accurate reply, but it scarcely captures the sense of existential vertigo that everyone I know seems to be fe … (read more)

Once again, the days are getting shorter, the hours of darkness are growing longer and the quest for any and all forms of light becomes correspondingly more acute. Yesterday evening my spouse walked in the door with a string of LED lights in her hands, bo … (read more)

Ah, the simple pleasures of summer: a cup of coffee, salt air, a sunny deck and the best vegan oatmeal raspberry bar I have ever tasted. Why sun and coffee? That needs no explanation. Why the salt air? Because while summer in Vermont is indeed a gift from … (read more)