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By ALLEN WOODS

A 1963 Broadway musical provided a catchy tune that could serve as an anthem for parents and elders today, and probably going back to those dwelling in caves: “Kids! . . . Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way?” Armed with hazy memories...

By ALLEN WOODS

Quick — what six- or seven-letter word is synonymous with “ignominious,” i.e., something causing or deserving public disgrace or shame?If this were a recent Boston-themed crossword puzzle or “Jeopardy!” episode, the answers would resound off the...

By ALLEN WOODS

Memorial Day always immerses me in a pool of mixed feelings, like those inspired by the national anthem soon after the Vietnam War. Then, the song was used as a club in the culture war which boiled down the complex issues surrounding the war into the...

By ALLEN WOODS

An online article for MacMillan dictionaries notes that many new words “enter and leave the language as the years go by, a direct reflection of the preoccupations of society in any particular era.” My reaction to the Dominion defamation suit against...

By ALLEN WOODS

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleepingI’m empty and aching and I don’t know whyCounting the cars on the New Jersey TurnpikeThey’ve all come to look for America“America.” — Paul Simon, 1968The idea of “searching for America” began...

By ALLEN WOODS

As a writer and editor, I know that correct punctuation can be very important. Consider the internet example: “Let’s eat, Papa” and “Let’s eat Papa.” But it’s sad to change this column’s title from a celebration (for an unlikely but believable event)...

By ALLEN WOODS

People react to visual images in ways as unique as their DNA or fingerprints. But if you view the work of Black artist Dr. Imo NseImeh at Greenfield Community College’s South Gallery (through April 7), or his website (imoimeh.com/), I can guarantee...

By ALLEN WOODS

I realize I’ll never be known as Mr. Smiley-Face because of my thoughts, observations, or facial expressions. (Family members regularly laugh at my inability to summon a smile on command, as illustrated in my column photo.) If I consider America’s...

By ALLEN WOODS

Of all the economic and social changes we’ve been force-fed in recent years, one of the most puzzling to me is our current American attitude towards work. Job-quitting and job-switching were so common during the pandemic (almost 40% of workers changed...

By ALLEN WOODS

Bono is literally a rock star. With U2 and others, he has earned 22 Grammy Awards for songs that have conquered the globe. He writes and rocks with an eye for both the immediate and the spiritual, and, in my mind, voiced his generation’s deepest...

By ALLEN WOODS

I wrote most of this column in July 2021, but never submitted it, fearing I would be quickly pigeonholed as just another old-man-grouch. But a group of Brooklyn teenagers, recently featured in The New York Times, have given me the strength and...

By ALLEN WOODS

The images are tragic for anyone with a bit of empathy: three women and three children, including a 1-year-old baby, die in a desperate attempt to flee a homeland filled with violence and instability. The country they had hoped to reach did not want...

By ALLEN WOODS

It’s always dangerous for me to watch TV since I am especially susceptible to infectious earworms that repeat a musical chorus or catch-phrase long after the commercial has ended. (I thought “earworm” was a humorous term, but like everything else...