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!

Appointed Rounds
February 27, 2006 · No Comment

At that time, everything went on foot, not just the mail: fruit, shoes, a mattress, anything you needed got hucked to you on someone’s back or in a wagon. Dangerous work, a carrier job, with …

The Vine: February 24, 2006
February 24, 2006 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
I am hoping you can help me out with a grammar question.
Posted near the exit of my university library is a sign that reads “You
may be requested to show your bag.” I am no …

The Vine: February 23, 2006
February 23, 2006 · No Comment

Hey Sars,
So my girlfriend and I got engaged a few weeks ago and apparently you have to start planning these wedding things right away or everything goes all to heck. We’d like to do it …

The Vine: February 22, 2006
February 22, 2006 · No Comment

Sars,
So…I have a dilemma. About a girl who I am kinda-sorta-but-not-really friends with. We’ll call her…A.
Background: Back in March, A told me that she planned on going out for her birthday, which was about 2.5 …

The Vine: February 21, 2006
February 21, 2006 · No Comment

Hey, Sars,
I’ve worn thigh highs for years because 1) I live in Florida and regular
hose get sweaty and 2) hosiery manufacturers cannot seem to grasp the idea
that female waists are no longer 16″ around. Anyway, …

Warning Trend
February 20, 2006 · One Comment

God knows how we got on the subject, but UD and I got to talking last night about how, as teenagers, we hadn’t really considered doing any of the things our parents seemed convinced we …

The Vine: February 17, 2006
February 17, 2006 · No Comment

Sars,
I hate nylons. HATE. Thigh highs are my friends — not only do the good ones actually stay up, they make me feel sexy in a “I’m the only one who knows what I’m wearing …

The Vine: February 16, 2006
February 16, 2006 · No Comment

Keeper of sage advice,
Life has not been easy, as it rarely is. I grew up in a little tiny town of about 100 people on the eastern edge of Alaska. Yup, the freezing middle of …

The Vine: February 15, 2006
February 15, 2006 · No Comment

Hello Sars,
Is there a polite way to tell someone that their table
manners are horrid? I have an friend who has to be the
most disgusting eater I’ve ever seen. He puts his
face right down near his …

The Vine: February 14, 2006
February 14, 2006 · No Comment

O Great Sars,
Is it “had got” or “had gotten”? As in, is it correct to say “when he had finally got a room with a window” or “when he had finally gotten a room with …