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: February 22, 2002
February 22, 2002 · One Comment

Dear Sars,
I have never asked for advice before, so here goes. I deeply care for this guy; in fact I think he may be the one, but I have deep commitment issues in the sense …

The Vine: February 20, 2002
February 20, 2002 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
Long-time listener, first-time caller. When I read Sad Sack Sis’s letter
this morning, I almost fell out of my chair. This letter isn’t really about me, but let’s just say that I could have written …

The Vine: February 19, 2002
February 19, 2002 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
Why are some people such cowards? Seriously, how hard is it to pick up the phone and say “sorry, I don’t think it’s working.” It takes less time then brushing your teeth, and allows …

Sick And Wrong
February 18, 2002 · One Comment

I do not like to throw up. Okay, nobody likes to throw up, obviously — it’s not an activity people list among their hobbies in personal ads, and we’ll never see Alex Trebek interviewing contestants …

The Vine: February 13, 2002
February 13, 2002 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
Rather than lying awake nights worrying about whether my new website will net me a stalker (okay, I exaggerate slightly — and that is on the off chance anyone will actually read it!), I …

The Vine: February 12, 2002
February 12, 2002 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
I’m a mixed-race woman from the Deep South, with a husband from the Northern ‘burbs. When my husband and I got married fourteen years ago, his parents were horrified. They are shallow, nouveau riche …

Five Uneasy Pieces
February 11, 2002 · One Comment

1. contradiction
The cats love to go outside the apartment — love it. The hallway is their favorite place, their one true love. Hobey likes to sit at the front door and stare at the crack …

The Vine: February 7, 2002
February 7, 2002 · No Comment

Sars,
Where do I begin?
Oh yes, at the beginning. I have a son. I’ve never been married, did not finish my degree, and come from meager socio-economic background.
We have lived with my boyfriend for almost two …

The Vine: February 6, 2002
February 6, 2002 · No Comment

I agree with you completely on why people procrastinate. I have been trying very hard to deal with my time-management issues of late, and I have a few suggestions.
If you have to do something huge …

The Vine: February 5, 2002
February 5, 2002 · No Comment

Dear Sars,
Just taking a brain-break at work to read the Vine. If you still post Vine feedback now and then, I have a thought to share with today’s Procrastinator — this helped me greatly in …