Baseball

“I wrote 63 songs this year. They’re all about Jeter.” Just kidding. The game we love, the players we hate, and more.

Culture and Criticism

From Norman Mailer to Wendy Pepper — everything on film, TV, books, music, and snacks (shut up, raisins), plus the Girls’ Bike Club.

Donors Choose and Contests

Helping public schools, winning prizes, sending a crazy lady in a tomato costume out in public.

Stories, True and Otherwise

Monologues, travelogues, fiction, and fart humor. And hens. Don’t forget the hens.

The Vine

The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!

Home » Archive by Category

Articles in Stories, True and Otherwise

Guy Corporation Customer Service, Can I Help You?
June 20, 2001 – 12:32 PM | No Comment

Internal Memo
From: Dick Manley, COO, Guy Corporation
To: Customer Service, Sales
Cc: Marketing, Public Relations
For immediate distribution
Just a quick heads-up on the latest round of product recalls, folks. Last month’s union work stoppages continue to take their …

June Bugs
June 20, 2001 – 12:31 PM | No Comment

“We just have to get to June.”
“June.”
“Juuuuune.”
“Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune.”
“How long has May been going on for, now?”
“Two years? Three years?”
“Longer. I think Chevy Chase still had a talk show when May started.”
“I think you’re right.”
“It’s bad.”
“Well, it’s …

Bad Food For Thought
May 20, 2001 – 12:27 PM | One Comment

I’ve never understood picky eaters. I’ll eat anything — and I mean anything. I’ve always eaten anything and everything, even as a little kid; I knew from reading the comics pages that kids as a …

A Few Things I’ve Learned About Shoes
May 20, 2001 – 12:27 PM | 2 Comments

“Man-made leather” is not leather. It has very little to do with man, or any real “making” as we understand the word. It is not pleather; it is not vinyl; it is not plastic, or …

What Women Want
May 20, 2001 – 12:26 PM | One Comment

Sarah: So you just left?
Regina: Yeah.
Sarah: Just grabbed your bag and —
Regina: Hell yeah!
Sarah: No explanation. Nothing.
Regina: Dude. He ordered a girl drink. It’s not like I could stay there.
Sarah: What kind of girl drink?
Regina: …

Midday Express
April 20, 2001 – 12:20 PM | No Comment

You could say, “Oh, come on, now,” to the rain as you and Gustave walk to Penn Station. Then you could comment that your hair already looks like a terrifying cross between Willow’s on Buffy …

I Don’t Look Fat
March 20, 2001 – 12:18 PM | No Comment

An entire cottage industry of humor — or, more accurately, “humor” — has sprung up around the following apocryphal sequence of events: woman emerges from dressing room, bathroom, or other outfitting alcove; woman strikes pose …

Please Please Mr. Postman
March 20, 2001 – 12:15 PM | No Comment

Dear IRS,
I just have a couple of questions here, because it’s a lot of money, and I’d just like to clear up a few things before I lop off my right breast and sell it …

King Of Pain
March 20, 2001 – 12:13 PM | No Comment

Last Friday night, midway through the fifth hour of a six-hour drinkfest with Jonesey, I did something stupid. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I ordered a Budweiser. And another. Aaaaand another. I don’t know why I …

Scenes From A Road Trip
February 19, 2001 – 3:09 PM | No Comment

“Ow.”
“I know.”
“You got coffee, though.”
“Yeah. Oh! Did you want one? I mean, was I supposed to get you one?”
“No. I mean — well, it wouldn’t do much good at this point anyway. So what’s with …