CHAUTAUQUA—An organization—it doesn’t matter here which one, yet it wasn’t Chautauqua Institution or Advocates for Balance at Chautauqua—had invited an author to speak about a just-published book and sign copies. So far, so good. Then the organization disinvited the author. ...

Some from my generation may remember the 1973 film, “The Paper Chase,” starring Timothy Bottoms and Lindsay Wagner and co-starring John Houseman, who was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Charles W. Kingsfield. Houseman reprised his role in the 1978 ...

Growing up, I was taught not to talk socially about religion or politics. In the accepted dinner table conversation of the time, those subjects were taboo. Given today’s small talk, those rules feel like a thousand years ago. Only the most polite conversationalists muzzle themselves ...

Growing up, I was taught not to talk socially about religion or politics. In the accepted dinner table conversation of the time, those subjects were taboo. Given today’s small talk, those rules feel like a thousand years ago. Only the most polite conversationalists muzzle themselves ...

I was snapping the ends off locally-grown green beans to make as a side dish for dinner tonight, trying to remember where I read you should only snap off the ends if they’re particularly wiry. And I decided I would prepare the beans the same way I have for half a century now because really, ...

Last week when I went into the grocery store there were bags and bags of cherries. They were the big red sweet ones. Everyone always enjoyed fresh cherries, but often those around here were out of sight as far as the price was. These were reasonable so I bought a bag to enjoy. As I sat ...