My Mother, the Stranger

She would leave in March, so over the next few months, I broke all my own rules. Soph could see me twice in a week, then three times, then four. Soph could meet my friends. Soph could come to Tuesday trivia. We could be exclusive, but only until she left. In coming to know Soph,…

Call It Postmodern Love

Joseph Bartlett Fay and Daniel Wayne Garness, fittingly, met face-to-face inside an architectural landmark — now known as the Burns House, designed by Charles Moore, the postmodernist architect, on a hillside in Santa Monica Canyon in California. “Dan is a residential and landscape designer,” Mr. Fay said. “I’m an architectural enthusiast.” Six months earlier, in…

The Great C.S.A. Dilemma

For those equally frustrated by supermarket markups and interested in supporting local farmers, a C.S.A., or community-supported agriculture program, has a lot to offer. Chief among the benefits is that a mystery box of fruits and vegetables makes every week (or every other week or every month, depending on your program’s model) feel like your…