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: October 2, 2000
October 2, 2000 · No Comment

Sarah,I met a friend of one of my closest friends about five months ago. At the time I thought he was a really interesting person, but had no romantic notions at all. Since that time, …

The Vine: September 29, 2000
September 29, 2000 · No Comment

Hmm.I have to disagree to some extent with your advice for Uncelebratory.Yes, we’re all adults, and learning to be comfortable with others in the family you’ve joined is part and parcel of being an adult.However, …

The Vine: September 28, 2000
September 28, 2000 · No Comment

Dear God’s Gift to Intellect,
How do you say no to gifts?More specifically, how do you say “hell no” to the suggestion that it will be in your best interest to accept gifts from people in …

The Vine: September 27, 2000
September 27, 2000 · No Comment

Recently this fall, I moved back to my childhood home on the south tip of Nova Scotia after being a round a variety of cities for college and internships, and had planned to start a …

The Vine: September 26, 2000
September 26, 2000 · No Comment

Ugh.I have a problem.
I have been dating probably one of the most amazing boys on the planet for three and a half months.We are extremely happy/amazed that we even met anyone like each other.He (we …

The Vine: September 25, 2000
September 25, 2000 · No Comment

Hi Sars!Long-time reader, first-time whiner.
My little group of five is splitting up.Granted, we’ve only known each other for a couple of years, but we all worked at the same place this year and have gotten …

The Vine: September 23, 2000
September 23, 2000 · No Comment

This is going to sound bathetic, drawn-out and yucky.Bear with me.
I just came out of a car accident that did a real number on me.Mercifully I suffered no debilitating spinal cord injuries, no freak amputations, …

The Vine: September 22, 2000
September 22, 2000 · No Comment

Dear Sarah,
I have recently entered a graduate program for creative writing. My workshop class began a few weeks ago, and though it’s for the most part full of creative people who are also fun and …

The Vine: September 21, 2000
September 21, 2000 · No Comment

Hi Sars,
You probably get a lot of letters for advice on this type of thing, but here is my dilemma anyway.I have a very close friend, one of my best friends, whom I basically fell …

The Vine: September 20, 2000
September 20, 2000 · No Comment

Dear Sarah,
I have a problem and I hope you can help me. I’m twenty years old and have been going out with this wonderful guy for about six months. He’s funny, intelligent, extremely kind, and …