Columns. Commentaries. Contemplations.
The Morning Call (October 31, 2023) By Michael T. Dolan I sit on the stoop and wait for darkness, a nightly ritual both simple and sacred. As daylight fades and dusk arrives, my eyes alight in the night. Autumn is made for the nocturnal, and …
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A mother’s love of Japanese maple trees has propagated roots far and wide. Main Line Today (May, 2020) By Michael T. Dolan Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman roamed throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest some 200 years ago, planting nurseries of apple trees and spreading good will along …
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“Bad Stream” in Main Line Today (April, 2020). Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh became yet another part of our ever-growing subscription-based society. Brought to you courtesy of Disney Plus and a $6.99 monthly charge, Pooh and …
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“Snow Job” in Main Line Today (February, 2020). As school superintendents wrestle with winter weather, here’s a letter they may want to keep close at hand… Dear Parents: I am writing to announce my immediate resignation as both your school superintendent and chief meteorologist. My years …
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Main Line Today (October, 2019) Sitting on my bedroom dresser is an old 45 vinyl record from 1973, perched up on a picture frame pedestal. Its 1.5” center hole has been replaced by a clock, with big and little hands stretching out across the grooved …
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Main Line Today (August, 2019). Water gushed over the cliff and crashed to the pool below before continuing on its way downstream. A cool mist drifted through the summer air, and I joined it. Casting off my hiking boots on a nearby rock, I waded …
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Main Line Today (June, 2019). I don’t golf. While a lack of time, talent and treasure has likely contributed to this state of affairs, the idea of hitting – and then fetching – a little round ball for the better part of a day just isn’t …
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The air is bitter, its winter wind brutal, and barren trees feel the cold not only in their branches, but in their trunks as well, creaking to their core. The tamed timbers of the house creek too as the wind outside thunders by like a …
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“Listening to the sounds of silence” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (August 14, 2016). The sound of stone and gravel crushing under tires signaled my escape was at hand. The small lot sat empty, as it usually is, and the trailhead stood in front of me, waiting …
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“Autumn thoughts of roots and roosts” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (November 22, 2015). The late November sky, cool grey as it begins to surrender to the approaching winter, hangs low, lonely, quietly foreboding. The marching band, the loudspeaker, and the cheering crowds — they no longer carry …
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“Muppets inspire us to make world a better place” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (September 22, 2015). It’s time to get things started … again. Kermit the Frog and company make their way back to network television when The Muppets premiers Tuesday evening on ABC. I know …
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“On the lookout for Ole Snappy” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (September 13, 2015).0 A late summer morning, and the lake is still. The paddle pulls us forward as we glide across its surface, our kayak’s ripples the only sound on this glistening mirror to the heavens. …
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I have to hand it to the marketing folks at Coca-Cola. They’ve got me praying a lot more these days. The “Share a Coke” campaign, with personalized labels of the 1000 most popular names in the country, is a stroke of marketing genius, one that has folks …
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“Dad as DJ: Hear him roar” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (May 31, 2015). At some point in time, somewhere between the departure of Hannah Montana and the arrival of Miley Cyrus, my kids got the mistaken impression that I am their DJ. We haven’t even …
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“One baseball field, two different dreams” on Philly.com (April 15, 2015). Lying on the grass, heads perched on palms, the boys gazed through the chain link fence at the field before them. Older versions of themselves stood guard at their positions: adjusting caps, pounding fists …
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“A day to celebrate books – the printed kind” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (February 23, 2015). Librarians, bibliophiles, jaded English majors and editors, booksellers and writers – rejoice! February 23 is Printed Book Day, a day when endangered species the world ’round celebrate the advent of Gutenberg’s …
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“As the snow falls, time to shut out the world” in the Philadelphia Inquirer (January 28, 2015). The night is silent save for the compression of snow as my shoes slog through the yard. God mutes the world with snowfall, and suddenly the slightest sound I …
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“My poor mother: Seven sons should merit sainthood” in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (March 7, 2015). “Your poor mother. She must be a saint.” These words, more than any others, have echoed throughout my life like a guilt-inducing broken record. They are usually preceded by two questions, …
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“How to play Stepball” in Main Line Today (July, 2014). In the early days of summer, boys and girls escape from school and seize the season with the pent-up excitement of a dog darting out the front door. They yelp, howl and yap, running through yards, …
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“The Tree House: Every Child’s Home Away from Home” in Main Line Today (July, 2013). Moms have their kitchens, dining rooms and living room—their porches, gardens and bedrooms. Truth be told, they have the whole house. Dads have their garages and basements, or so they think. …
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