Clik here to view.
Some of My Favorite City Things
LISTEN HERE Central Park, May 2019 RALPH GARDNER JR. Cities in general and New York City in particular are facing an existential crisis, if they’re not completely doomed. That’s what some of the news,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Taking A Pond’s Temperature
LISTEN HERE Ralph’s new thermometer CREDIT RALPH GARDNER JR, During a pandemic you have to take your pleasure where you can. So I was probably more excited than I should or would have been in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Call in the Experts
LISTEN Julie Cerny, author of the Little Gardener RALPH GARDNER JR, Ours is not a victory garden unless your idea of victory is just enough lettuce to eke out a salad, grape tomatoes sufficient to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Graduation for the Ages
LISTEN My college reunion’s this weekend. Or it would have been this weekend if a pandemic hadn’t interceded. I won’t say which reunion it is on the grounds that I’ll be deluged with offers for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reusable Community Activism
LISTEN Tom Plumb at Middlebury College in the 1970’s My wife and I have the same disagreement around this time every year. She wants to buy a case of bottled water for guests. I say our tap water is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Vicarious Visit to the Louvre
James Gardner, author of “The Louvre: The Many Lives of the World’s Most Famous Museum,” is shown in the Medieval Louvre in 2019. PHOTO PROVIDED BY RALPH GARDNER JR. GHENT, N.Y. — It seems like...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let’s Hear it for Customer Support
LISTEN A Ring security system selfie RALPH GARDNER JR. Placing an online order, or calling for technical support only to be asked to fill out a customer satisfaction survey seconds later can be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Most Popular Pandemic Cookie
By Ralph Gardner Jr. GHENT, N.Y. — With the possible exception of toilet paper, nothing is moving faster off supermarket shelves than Oreo cookies and other junk foods, though I take strenuous...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What’s that Plant?
LISTEN Bull thistle RALPH GARDNER JR. Imagine if there was a way to make yourself more intelligent. A pill you could take without side effects – except, perhaps, to make you insufferable – or a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s Corn Season!
LISTEN Corn ready for harvest UNITED SOYBEAN BOARD / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS There’s a lot of grim news out there. But here’s some good news. Some very good news: it’s corn season again. Summer has its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
John Homans
LISTEN John Homans CREDIT MARILYNNE HERBERT Writers sometimes become famous; their editors rarely do. The reasons are obvious. It’s the writer’s name or byline on the book or magazine article or...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Saving Family History from the Dumpster
LISTEN Ralph Gardner Sr. with Helen Keller (center) and companion Polly Thomson PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY RALPH GARDNER JR. What’s our responsibility to our elders once they’re gone? That’s something I’ve...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fresh lobster roll was a little taste of heaven in the summer from hell
A lobster roll with fries and a side of coleslaw along the coast of Maine was just what the doctor ordered for the author. METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Posted Friday, August 14, 2020 12:18 pm By Ralph...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Art of Heroism
LISTEN House calls may not be the wisest move in the middle of a pandemic, especially when your host is ninety-nine years old. But I wasn’t content to meet Justus Rosenberg – that’s not Justice as in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Friends on a Country Road
GHENT, N.Y. — My wife makes fun of me for many reasons. But, one of the most persistent is my propensity to wave at people along our quiet country road. Motorists. Bicyclists. The occasional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Back to the Museum
LISTEN The recently reopened Impressionist wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art RALPH GARDNER, JR. I was able to answer one question Thursday afternoon that I’ve been asking myself for years: why do...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ways to Save Autumn
The Empire State Rail Trail at Kinderhook NY RALPH GARDNER, JR. A lot of people I know – make that everyone – are apprehensive as we head into autumn and then winter with coronavirus nipping at our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Some Assembly Required
GHENT, N.Y. — I’ve heard a lot of hand-wringing — can hand-wringing actually he heard? — about the next phase of the pandemic. Dark warnings about seasonal affect disorder on steroids as the warmth...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Article 0
LISTEN I’m here to tell you that talk of New York City’s demise is premature. Contrary to President Trump’s characterization in Tuesday night’s debate, it’s not a deserted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
LISTEN That old typing exercise – “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country” – seems relevant in a way that it never has before. With the Republic at mortal risk Donald...
View Article