Bruce Costa's Blog

I’ve always considered Yorktown Seafood my first real job. I’m not quite sure why, as it wasn’t the first job I was paid for, nor the first job I got by gathering up the courage to ask, nor the first time I worked for a stranger. I was 13 and made $1.26 an hour under …

Continue reading "The Education of a Minimum Wage Worker"

A thoughtful old friend challenged my frustration regarding the DNC’s choice of candidate in 2016. My thoughts follow, skipping the part where I accuse him of assigning other folks’ thoughts to me. What did everyone hate so much about Hillary? Now, look at where you got that impression. Most people who really “hated” her were …

Continue reading "A 2016 Voter’s Post Mortem: Think Independently in 2020"

I’ve payed attention to New York Times columnist @TomFriedman for years and like him a lot. He has another recent installment describing his support for Bloomberg over any other candidate, and this longtime Bernie hopeful is with him on that. I agree 100% with everything his thoughtful article laid out. But Friedman’s current proposition has …

Continue reading "Plowing Trump: Counter-Proposing a Way for Dems"

Bobby, the first of the five Matteson siblings, is a remarkable artist whose work is in the homes of most creative thinkers in the Northeastern United States, and many worldwide. (It was in mine 22 years before I ever had a conversation with him.) Susan had only just brought a close to 35 years of …

Continue reading "I Like Funerals."

I still argue that the most valuable institution in our country isn’t our universities, our co-equal branches of government, our healthcare, our science institutions or our education system writ large. It isn’t even our military. It is our news media, making journalism the most noble of professions. I think I will always make that argument. …

Continue reading "The Nobility Of Research In Real Time"

That’s an interesting title, because not too long ago there was no other kind. It now seems  common for members of our Saran-wrapped society to grow as appalled by the site of a cat on grass as they do seeing an unaccompanied child walking on a sidewalk. This article covers the ethical strengths and flaws …

Continue reading "The Ethics of Caring for Outdoor Cats"

Even in our coddled world, it’s still possible to get it right.   Spend three minutes here and listen to how an adult child of great parents sounds. 

I am sad to my core about the fate of the regal cathedral in our first ally’s City of Lights. Various BBC reports have provided additional, suprising information about this tragedy. Had fire crews not entered the building, “without doubt it would have collapsed” said French Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. He explained that multiple …

Continue reading "Penser à des amis à Paris"

I’m exactly the wrong person to write this article, given how much of my earlier life I spent avoiding anything to do with uniform dress. The very concept seemed silly. Why do fancier clothes always come with discomfort and impracticality? Why do women enjoy an endless variety of fashion, while men get variations on a …

Continue reading "The Purpose of a Karate Uniform"

I often disdain the unworthy enthusiasm of those who reserve early seating for release dates of today’s superhero movies. Not a one of you have forgone the kiss of a girl or endured a wedgie for your crimes. I do so wish you all could have felt what it was like to read these stories …

Continue reading "Spandex Enthusiasm"