I'm not sold. During a recent discussion with colleagues about whether or not to push staff members to return to the office, the word came up a lot: Culture. But what did people mean by "culture"? They seemed unsure when pressed—there was an assumption of shared meaning that evaporated once we put the word under … Continue reading On “culture” as a reason to bring people back to the office
Author: T Coe
On Nanci Griffiths’s “Love at the Five and Dime”
There’s a new cover version of “Love at the Five and Dime” out there—a lovely duet recorded by the late John Prine and Kelsey Waldon. The track is a single off an upcoming tribute album to Griffiths, assembled slowly over the past few years by Emmylou Harris, following the death of Griffiths in 2021. I … Continue reading On Nanci Griffiths’s “Love at the Five and Dime”
On wondering what education is for
An article that's been floating around my head a lot over the past week is David Brooks's recent cover story for The Atlantic—"How America Got Mean." The article covers a lot of ground, but there's one thing that jumped out at me: the question of what education is for. It got me wondering: Why did … Continue reading On wondering what education is for
On watching an R-rated film on a commercial flight
I was on the plane when I saw a man slit another man’s throat. On someone’s iPad, of course—but it was still pretty shocking. I’m old enough (though barely) to remember when in-flight entertainment was still a thing. When screens dropped down from the overhead luggage compartments and showed popular, inoffensive films during flights. The … Continue reading On watching an R-rated film on a commercial flight
On 7 things from last week (8/21/23)
Crabs. I have a confession: I’d never eaten crabs before this last week. (Save for the rare crab cake and real California roll, I’d hardly even eaten crab meat.) And, like their culinary companions lobster, I learned that eating crabs is a real dining adventure. Summer Triangle. Ever so slowly, I’m trying to learn more … Continue reading On 7 things from last week (8/21/23)
On becoming generous
Can one become generous through a desire to become generous? To word it otherwise: must generosity be an end in and of itself? Or it is possible to be generous while desiring to be such? Ever since completing the stupendous second season of Enlightened, one exchange has stuck with me: Do you actually want to … Continue reading On becoming generous
On beach time
I don’t wear a watch. I gave it up a few years ago when my leather wristband wore through. I put my watch away in a drawer and made vague plans to order a replacement. And I never did—I got used to the naked left wrist, and didn’t miss catching the watch on corners and … Continue reading On beach time
On thinking more about boogie boards
A whistle. I looked up at the lifeguard stand and the sunglassed teenager was waving me off. I turned around and tramped up the sandy incline to with my boogie board. “No boogie boarding?” The kid nodded in assent. “Two yellow flags,” he said. “Rip currents right now.” “But we can swim?” “Yep, you can … Continue reading On thinking more about boogie boards
On hunting for seashells
As a kid who grew up on the East Coast and spent many a summer day at the beach, I never cared for seashells. I would pick up the quality shell, of course, but combing the beach was never a pastime. I was happier digging for sand crabs and getting walloped by waves. So it … Continue reading On hunting for seashells
On the FOMO of working two time zones ahead
For nearly two years, I worked on an international team—most of my colleagues were in the U.K. while I was in New York. I wouldn’t recommend this work structure. When I started my day, I would open Outlook to find nearly a full day’s worth of emails—my British colleagues had already been cracking away for … Continue reading On the FOMO of working two time zones ahead
Taylor Coe 