A few years ago, a slim volume at Borders jumped out at me. I don’t know which caught my eye first: the jacket photograph — depicting a man’s sand-dappled shins from the POV of their owner, who’s reposing in a beach hammock — or the title, The Importance of Being Lazy. I’d been giving the subject some thought even before spotting the book. That is, wondering if I’d ever have enough free time to put on my lazy pants. The subtitle extolled what I was lacking: In Praise of Play, Leisure, and Vacations.... Read more

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We did the math. Between babysitting fees, top-shelf martinis and movie tickets, date night was costing my husband and me nearly $100. We were anything but cheap dates until we found the Sunset Drive-In on Porters Point Road in Colchester, which opens in April for the summer. Now we can get all our needs met — time together, cinematic delight and an onboard babysitter — for exactly $20.... Read more

After bugging me for years, my right hand finally decided to kill me. It wrapped around my neck like a python while I slept, then slowly started to strangle me. I woke up coughing uncontrollably, unable to breathe. My left hand had to fight to pry it off. I sat on all 10 of my bickering digits and used my big toe to dial 911.... Read more

Before the Girl from Ipanema went walking, she undoubtedly went waxing. For generations, most Brazilian women have been removing all the hair from their bodies before stepping onto a beach, or into a bedroom.

Nearly two decades ago, seven Brazilian sisters -- Jocely, Jonice, Joyce, Janea, Jussara, Juracy and Judseia -- sought to challenge pubic opinion in New York City with the J. Sisters International Salon. Since then, I hear, a surprisingly large number of labias majora in Manhattan have gone Brazilian.... Read more

GEORGE'S NOSE WAS OUT OF JOINT, and by God he wasn't going to sit around all day while he figured out what in heaven's name to do. "This is not my cup of tea," he screamed at his secretary Jennie. She wasn't sure if he was referring to the mug of Orange Pekoe that she had handed him moments earlier or if he was saying that he hated his job. That was the thing about George. No one was ever quite sure what he was saying whenever he spoke.... Read more

Worlds collide on the Church Street Marketplace every day. This month at the Frog Hollow Gallery, an intersection of people and place takes center stage. The "Somali Bantu Refugee Craft Exhibit" features the work of six African refugees who have recreated traditional wares for their new American neighbors.

Sherri LaPierre, Frog Hollow's operations manager, proposed the exhibit last spring, hoping it would capture "the diversity that the refugees bring to our city," and reveal "the common thread that runs through all of us as artists and craftspeople," she says.... Read more

Since arriving in Vermont four years ago, 40 of the so-called "Lost Boys" of civil-war-torn Sudan have settled in nicely. They have cars. They have jobs. They go to church. They have cell phones. Many have high school diplomas and some are pursuing college degrees. What's missing for the young men is marriage, as defined by the traditions of their tribe. Many of those who made the long trek to the United States, like 22-year-old Simon Ateny, are going back home for brides.... Read more

Geof Hewitt’s passion for poetry began when his high school English teacher gave him a C-minus for trying “to out-Shelley Shelley.” The funny part, Hewitt says, was that he had been attempting “to out-Poe Poe.” But some 40 years and a half-dozen books later — including the latest, Only What’s Imagined — the clever Calais resident has managed to outdo himself, over and over again.... Read more