When Santa Goes on Vacation

SURFACING Meet the Santas and Mrs. Clauses who live every day like it’s Christmas — even in July. Text by Aaron Reiss Photographs by Chris Maggio Image Santa Jim Lunn and his wife Annette take it easy on the top deck.CreditChris Maggio for The New York Times During the Christmas season, Santa may circle the…

The Legend of Moe’s Books

Moe Moskowitz, the co-founder of Moe’s Books in Berkeley, was known for a lot of things: his omnipresent cigars; his appalling dancing (sometimes to Cab Calloway on the store’s turntable); his political activism; and especially the way he held court at the cash register, riffing like Jackie Mason at a Friars Club podium. The more…

A Cake for America

Good morning. I was on an adventure with one of my kids. We’d eaten a lot of cheese pupusas at El Nopal in Patchogue, the hot masa slathered in salsa roja and washed down with mango purée, then driven sleepily into Blue Point and west along Middle Road to Meadow Croft, the former summer estate…

Some Democrats Talk About Cosmetic Surgery Insurance. It Doesn’t Exist.

Image A window display outside a clinic in Miami. Elective cosmetic procedures are almost never covered by medical insurance, and economics explains why.CreditEllis Rua/Associated Press The “Medicare for all” bill written by Senator Bernie Sanders would cover not just standard medical services, but also vision, dental and long-term care. It would offer more health benefits than…