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

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 11: Ogallala, NE to Green River, WY
August 6, 2011 – 7:17 PM | 5 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 11: Ogallala, NE to Green River, WY

I’ve had Grandma on my mind a lot since Tuesday, the anniversary of her death. Thanks to the revelation the other day that the swimming hole is not an artifact of Twain’s America, but still …

Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 10: Lewis & Clark Lake, NE to Ogallala, NE
August 6, 2011 – 11:08 AM | 10 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 10: Lewis & Clark Lake, NE to Ogallala, NE

I dragged my feet. I checked every room twice more than I needed to, in case I’d overlooked a cord, or a watch — I even “checked” outside, where none of these things would have …

Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 9: Dakota Dunes, SD to Lewis & Clark Lake, NE
August 5, 2011 – 12:49 AM | 15 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 9: Dakota Dunes, SD to Lewis & Clark Lake, NE

It dawned hot, still humid, and I was up by then. I’d slept like shit — no dreams, but waking up every hour, forgetting where I was and why I had come there. I spent …

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 8: Mauston, WI to Dakota Dunes, SD
August 3, 2011 – 10:25 PM | 7 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 8: Mauston, WI to Dakota Dunes, SD

I woke up just after dawn. I hadn’t slept enough, quite, and I kept doing things like trying to wash my hair with bar soap and almost packing a cup of coffee. Once I actually …

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Days 6 and 7: Minneapolis, MN to Mauston, WI
August 2, 2011 – 9:51 AM | 23 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Days 6 and 7: Minneapolis, MN to Mauston, WI

It’s amazing how little time it takes for all my stuff — messenger bag; computer bag; duffel bag; suitcase — to explode across a hotel room. I try to repack as I go along, but …

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 5: Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
July 30, 2011 – 10:49 AM | 8 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 5: Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

As I write about Friday, it’s actually Saturday, and Pop-Up Chapel is underway back in NYC. I’m so thrilled and impressed; congratulations all, big and small. Go to Merchants’ Gate in Columbus Circle to feel …

Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 4: Madison, WI to Minneapolis, MN
July 29, 2011 – 6:51 PM | 11 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour, Day 4: Madison, WI to Minneapolis, MN

Morning. Thursday was Biscuit Day at the Clarion Suites breakfast buffet, an “event” that had me more excited than it should have. I collected a few dough pucks and nibbled while answering email; then it …

Big Country Little Car Tour II: Chicks Dig The Long Haul
July 29, 2011 – 2:35 AM | 86 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II: Chicks Dig The Long Haul

6/30/11
It’s back — and it’s smaller than ever!
…Just kidding. The trip is waaaaay bigger; the car is the same modest size, but will have cruise control this time oh thank sweet achey Jesus.
Big Country Little …

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 3: Madison WI
July 28, 2011 – 5:36 PM | 15 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 3: Madison WI

I won’t lie; I spent a lot of yesterday gazing fondly at my stuff. Occasionally, I would touch some of my stuff, or greet it. “Socks! What’s up, guys?”
I spent the rest of yesterday napping; …

Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 2: Akron OH to Milwaukee WI (sort of)
July 27, 2011 – 10:46 AM | 39 Comments
Big Country Little Car Tour II, Day 2: Akron OH to Milwaukee WI (sort of)

In retrospect, I can say with confidence that most of this is my fault — starting with yesterday’s playlist tweet, sent just after I’d listened to Junior Brown’s “Broke Down South of Dallas.” That was …