Our mother

Our mother was many things over the course of her lifetime. Not all of them were pretty. 

But as a young thing, she certainly could cut a figure. Smart, elegant, arrogant, a ‘cliffee, she had a lot going for her, and that photo effectively conveys it. 

It was also the era of another Harvardian, John F. Kennedy, so the aroma was in the air. My parents thought they were pretty hot stuff, and maybe they were. “It was a heady time,” was a favorite phrase of my mother’s. I’m certain it was.

Phyllis Munro Ferguson Seidel (1938-2024), circa 1963

The subway is a sewer

 The sewer scene in Les Miserables and the movie The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3 really are the same story -- life underground when there is a great city above. For Victor Hugo, it's Paris of 1832. For director Joseph Sargent, it's New York of 1974. The main question is, will any of their characters ever see the light of day again.