Author Archives: Sparky
Rockport and the “George Stone discount”
Jett and I traveled to Rockport MA a week ago, to visit her mother’s grave and to generally enjoy Rockport, her childhood summer home and still one of our favorite places on the planet. Her brother, George Stone, lived there his entire life. He was a bit of a character (an understatement) but a lovable … Continue reading
Extended Stay America
Yesterday was out 60th day in residence at Extended Stay America (ESA) in Westborough MA. The plan is to stay 90 days, then head back to Florida, if Jett is well enough to go back home. I think the chances of that are pretty good – better than 90%. While she is still very ill … Continue reading
“Foreign Affairs” by Stuart Woods
Copyright 2015 by Stuart Woods. Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons. This is one of Stuart Woods’ many books featuring Stone Barrington, lawyer superhero. There are a bunch of these and this is #35 in the series. I am somewhat facetious when I call Stone a “lawyer superhero.” But his character approaches superhero stature. He … Continue reading
Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum will never be put in the same category at The Louvre or even Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. However, for an art museum located in a small city, it isn’t bad. Better than I expected. Let’s start with the building itself. It is rather grand. Neo-gothic, I think, with a sunlit … Continue reading
“The Woods” by Harlan Coben
Published by Signet, 2008. Copyright 2007 by Harlan Coben. I usually leave my summary rating to the end, but in this case I will put it right up front: 9.5 out of 10. This may be the most satisfying mystery that I have read in many years. The story centers on the disappearance in the … Continue reading
Still puzzling
Since leaving Florida – and pretty much while there all winter – the only jigsaw puzzles that I have done were the computer ones. These are 300 pieces with all the pieces correctly oriented. They are fun, but they are a shadow of a real jigsaw puzzle of 500 pieces or more. So in addition … Continue reading
“Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter” by David Benjamin
Last Kid Books, April 2019. Copyright 2018 by David Benjamin. If you have read any of Benjamin’s other novels – in particular, Three’s a Crowd which is also a mystery and is also (partially) set in Paris – you will be struck by his growth as an author. While the characters in Three’s a Crowd … Continue reading
New Salem Old Home Day
New Salem MA is a *very* small town – fewer than 1,000 residents. The center of the town consists of a few public buildings and maybe 20 houses. There just isn’t much there. But if you ever lived there you are invited to return for the annual “Old Home Day”. Presumably it is intended to … Continue reading
Cloning our life
When Jett and I left Flagler Beach, headed north on Amtrak, we took as many of our belongings as we could carry in one large suitcase and four small shopping bags. A few days after we arrived, I returned to Florida to return the RV to its home base and to collect more of our … Continue reading
Worcester’s EcoTarium
In an effort to get to better know the city where I am doing time this summer – and to, perhaps, make this blog just a little less depressing – I made a brief visit to Worcester’s EcoTarium yesterday. TripAdvisor ranks it as the #2 attraction in Worcester (the #1 attraction, the Worcester Art Museum, … Continue reading