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!

The Vine: May 11, 2006
May 11, 2006 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
First, thanks again for “Yes, You Are,” which continues to rule.Second, I wonder if you could help me squash a molehill that I am turning into an anxiety-causing mountain.
Last year, I landed a sweet …

The Vine: May 10, 2006
May 10, 2006 · No Comment

Dear Sars —
Here’s the situation in a nutshell.I have, at
thirty-two years old, married and with a family,
returned to university to finish my B.A.Not one of
those just-want-the-degree-so-I-can-get-a-promotion
things, but planning to continue on to graduate school
et cetera …

The Vine: May 9, 2006
May 9, 2006 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
Love your site, just thought I’d my two cents re: hair dye.In my
experience, the best-lasting semi-permanent dye (and there don’t seem
to be permanent ones for the purples/bright reds/greens) is Paintbox by
Fudge.That can be a …

Skye Loves Mambo
May 8, 2006 · No Comment

Well, it’s finished — in the sense that it has an ending. The issue, at a certain point, became just getting to the end one way or another, after getting sick and putting off dealing …

The Vine: May 5, 2006
May 5, 2006 · No Comment
The Vine: May 5, 2006

Dear Sars,
The letter from the person afraid to read The
Gift of Fear could have been written by me a couple of
years ago.I was in the position where I knew
something happened but I didn’t want to …

The Vine: May 4, 2006
May 4, 2006 · No Comment

Hello, Sars,
I’m 26, and married to my high-school sweetheart.We have two beautiful, wonderful children, and I love him and our family very much.The one nagging issue in our marriage is that we have polar-opposite political …

The Vine: May 3, 2006
May 3, 2006 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
I’m not sure if you ever print updates from former letter writers, but just
in case here goes.I wrote to The Vine for advice in July, 2002 — “Would-be
Mommy.”Basically you told me what I already …

The Vine: May 2, 2006
May 2, 2006 · No Comment

Oh Grammar Great One,
I know you must get sick of these, but I’ve come across different answers to this one from different people.When a hyphenated word is in a title, do you capitalize both parts?For …

The Vine: April 28, 2006
April 28, 2006 · No Comment

Dear Sars,I currently have a good job which I like well enough and am happy with. My department has gone through a few years of turmoil. Every six months or so since I started, there …

The Vine: April 27, 2006
April 27, 2006 · No Comment

To be as succinct as possible, here is my question with the minimum of back story. I have a male friend who smells. As in “Febreze the couch after he sits on it” smells. His …