I’m not much of a drinker, but I must admit that my ears perked up when Carol asked me to join her on a trip to Prattville, Alabama, where the town of 36,000 was fighting to save its gin factory. Not a gin mill — which is slang for a low-class tavern. An enormous factory. […]
Save the Gin (Not the Drink or Card Game!) Factory
Posted March 1st, 2012 at 6:53 pm (UTC-4)
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The Old Dominion
Posted July 30th, 2010 at 12:24 pm (UTC-4)
After reading my post about suburbia a couple of times back, my colleague Penelope Poulou, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, pointed out that even though Alexandria is considered part of suburban Washington, D.C., the city of 145,000 people is nothing like stereotypical modern suburbs. Founded in 1749, 52 years before Washington even existed, Alexandria was […]
Pressing Business
Posted March 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pm (UTC-4)
One of my favorite movie quotes, from the 1954 classic “On the Waterfront,” is the lament by Terry Malloy, a washed-up prizefighter turned longshoreman: “I coulda been a contender.” Or as he pronounced it, a “contenduh.” Well, “I coulda been a librarian”! Librarians’ work is full of excitement and danger! And maybe I should have […]
