Guestwords

Norman Jaffe’s landmark design for Harold Becker’s house in a Wainscott pasture taught me that rule-bending buildings can change your mental space, your emotional compass, your perception of the relationship between nature and human nature.

My life as a full-time patient.

Long Island real estate is suffering as sales decrease and homes lose value, and one reason is chronic flooding fueled by climate change.

Writing a memoir was not something that came naturally. It was more like building my first treehouse and my second marriage. I had to struggle to learn how to “measure twice, cut once.”

Breaking news, Verizon. There’s a new kid in town, a challenger for your WCW crown — Worst Company in the World.

“Jojo Rabbit” is told from the point of view of a boy during the war. I was a boy at the same time. And I had trouble laughing.

Remembering William Ruckelshaus, the first administrator of the E.P.A., a principled government official whose life was dedicated to environmental leadership.

There is no greater pain than the feeling of shame. I know. As a victim of clerical sexual abuse, my tears waited nearly half a century to stream from my eyes.

I don’t know if any one of us ever really got through John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

There’s one big reason for not hosting Thanksgiving — the turkey.

A marathon story-shaping Freedom Forum at Stony Brook University on Saturday is dedicated to the memory of Marcelo Lucero, the Ecuadorean immigrant who was stabbed to death in Patchogue in 2008.

It’s the rhythm of the natural world that keeps us grounded, and what we need most in desperate times. That’s what I came to understand when I was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.

I doubt Roy was thinking “last time” on Jan. 2, 2010, as he walked down the driveway of the Montauk house where we had shared 36 years of summers and weekends. But that’s just the thing about the last time: Plans don’t matter.

I loved my nirvana on the corner where I savored chance encounters with all comers — locals, tourists, art and film mavens, even an occasional boldface name. But then began my maiden skirmish in N.Y.C.’s internecine war over booze.

The sight of the local farm stand bounty conjures a sense memory of an early fall in Indiana, and the stovetop follies of a group of friends.

It’s a mistake to allow police officers to sue the families of children or adults who have mental illness when something goes wrong after a 911 call. This may set a precedent the consequences of which could be a reluctance to make the call in the first place or even lost work because of time in court.

A survey by the Pew Research Center observed that 63 percent of Jews say they’re either “fairly certain they believe in God” or are in some place of nonbelief or questioning. Unless we have an honest an conversation about spirituality, this “God gap” will continue to widen.

The Global Climate Strike, a weeklong demonstration that starts Sept. 20, offers a chance to reflect on ethical choices we can make to do what’s right for nature and animals while we can still make a difference.

The first time I did a half-mile open water swim I came in last and was the only one without a wetsuit. At my age, why would I possibly want a wetsuit?

Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet.

A retrospective for the most misunderstood artist of the 20th century.

On an August night 53 years ago, teenybopper screaming subsumed every sound. Then teenybopper weeping filled the giant soup bowl that was Shea Stadium. I wonder why we went?

The Broadway legend offered encouragement to a young composer and conductor, and it stuck with her for a lifetime.

I’ve watched Tom Wolfe at a church bazaar, was elbow to elbow with Bianca Jagger at the video store, browsed books with Billy Joel, shopped for antiques with Martha Stewart, and saw Candice Bergen outside Citarella. I admit it, whenever I see someone famous, I go a little goofy.

Playing Major League Baseball might have been my dream come true. Or my death sentence.

As social workers and educators, the lens through which we consider the migrant and refugee is deeply rooted in humanistic values and a faith-based tradition of welcoming strangers. Whatever your view of the immigration “debate,” it is imperative to acknowledge each person’s dignity as a human being.

When Memorial Day approached, my thoughts turned to Henry David Thoreau. Like him, I “want but little.” Where better to get in touch with nature and contemplate the meaning of life than our house in the Hamptons?

Despite two failed marriages, I still loved men. The way they smell. The way they see life. The way it feels to kiss them. I knew I couldn’t find myself on a diet of self-help, yoga, and girlfriends, as much as I love those things. The naked truth was that I needed men to get over the men who’d let me down. In fact, I needed a lot of them. 

“UFO Sightings Desk Reference,” a county-by-county compilation of saucer sightings in all 50 states, ranked Suffolk County as number one, with 554 U.F.O.s reported from 2001 to 2015. Here are some of the most notable sightings over East Hampton and Montauk.

There’s an old saying that comedy equals tragedy plus time. Which must be why bad house guests are much funnier (after the fact) than good guests. All I know is they’re much more fun to write about than actually live through.