Articles by Emmet Meara
EMMET MEARA
Golden oldie movies perfect for a rainy afternoon
I feel sorry for those people (no names, please) who see no value in old movies, very old movies. On these dark, endlessly rainy afternoons, I search mightily for a golden oldie, perhaps a war movie, perhaps a cowboy movie. Last week, I hit paydirt with “Santa Fe Trail” starring …
EMMET MEARA
A love affair with Bonnie Raitt
All right. I love her. I have loved her for 40 years. Maybe more. We don’t meet very often, every couple of years. That only makes the heart grow fonder. We meet in places such as Boston, Fort Myers, Hampton Beach, Concord and Portland. It is always loud and noisy, …
EMMET MEARA
Distilling wisdom from literature — the easy way
You take your knowledge, like your pleasure, where you can find it, according to a Cobb Manor tenet. While cruising the Web this week, I came across Shortlist.com, a website which distills wisdom from various classical literature. I don’t know about you, but I simply don’t have the time to …
EMMET MEARA
Who is Martha Grimes?
It was a mystery. How did Martha Grimes, 81, win the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America when I had never heard of her? If you gave me the choice of the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Peace Prize, I would prefer the Edgar Award, given out …
EMMET MEARA
Rockland’s food on the map for greatness
I can remember when a “gourmet meal” in Rockland consisted of a burger and (fabulous) fries at G.I. Mom’s, a lunch wagon parked beside the Oasis Bar. Now, the city wins a foodie award every other week. This week, it is The Daily Meal website that has placed Rockland among …
EMMET MEARA
What tops your funniest movie list?
What is your funniest movie? Boston.com started a poll this week to determine the “funniest movie ever.” This, of course, is a highly subjective matter relying on taste, discrimination and at least a touch of insanity. I am preparing the Cobb Manor ballot for submission. Naturally, I will omit anything …
EMMET MEARA
Time for a Kindle?
Is it time? It could be time. This week, Fowlie’s Overpriced Emporium notified me that the Boston Globe had gone up to $2 an issue, much more on Sunday. I thought maybe it was just Fowlie’s that charged the extra 50 cents, but apparently it’s everywhere. During March, I hid …
EMMET MEARA
Catching up after vacation — to read, or not to read
Most people return from their two weeks’ vacation to find a pile of bills, newspapers and magazines. They are dutifully read and (mostly) paid within a few days. The traditional Cobb Manor vacation is a two-month melange of baseball, kayaking and biking in the subtropical climes of Ft. Myers, Fla. …
EMMET MEARA
Golfing with biblical twins
I have no shame. On or off the golf course. This week, I ended up in the Rivard Golf Course in Brooksville, Fla. for my semiannual outing on the links. Naturally, with this schedule, I am one of the worst golfers ever, if not the very worst. I don’t even …
EMMET MEARA
A literary break from the ballpark
Man cannot live by baseball alone. Even a diehard Red Sox fan must abandon the ballpark occasionally, to drink in the cultural offerings of Ft. Myers, Fla., during spring training. No, not Hooters and the strip clubs. I mean the annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival, held last Saturday. If print …
EMMET MEARA
A Red Sox preview from JetBlue park
All right. Ball games are not quite as different as individual snowflakes. But each game has a certain style, a certain trademark. For instance, in Monday’s game between the Red Sox and Miami Marlins, the underappreciated art of throwing a baseball seemed to be the order of the day. Let’s …
EMMET MEARA
New Red Sox training ground gets Meara’s blessing
My sandal-clad toes inched onto the most famous grass in my world, the grass in left field of the Boston Red Sox. The left-field grass was patrolled by that baseball god, Ted Williams, in my youth. Then there was Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Mike Greenwell and, of course, Manny Ramirez. …
EMMET MEARA
Stolen, lost or borrowed — Emmet Meara ‘misplaces’ his car in Daytona
When in Rome you do as the Romans do. When in Florida, you watch the Daytona 500. This year’s race was a beauty, postponed by rain for the first time ever for 24 hours, then postponed nine hours the next day. I don’t consider myself a NASCAR fan, but this …
EMMET MEARA
Feeding a flashlight fetish
It’s better to have one (seven) and not need it, than to need it and not have one. I have heard this from my pistol-packing companions for years as they defend their personal firepower. I have adopted this National Rifle Association defense for one of my more outstanding compulsion-weaknesses. I …
A visit to The Newseum a welcome detour
By Emmet Meara on Feb. 17, 2012, at 6:33 p.m.
No driving trip to Florida was ever complete without a prolonged stop at the Smithsonian Museum, affectionately termed “The Nation’s Attic.” This year, I actually arrived too early for the museum, a rare event anywhere. I was forced to take the long, long hike to my cultural alternative, The Newseum. …
EMMET MEARA
Nothing tops ‘mordant, flippant’ novels of Elmore Leonard
It was so long ago that I cannot remember when I was first exposed to Elmore Leonard, the acknowledged leader of the American crime novel. Give me a break. Leonard is 86 and he has written 44 novels of present-day crime and the Old West, many of which made it …
EMMET MEARA
Can the Pats overcome the Irish curse of Twomey-Meara?
By Emmet Meara on Feb. 03, 2012, at 11:07 a.m.
Don’t blame me. I have done all I can. The Patriots are now on their own. In order to assure that your New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl on Sunday, I have laid a bet on the hated New York Giants. It is called a reverse Irish mojo. …
EMMET MEARA
Fear of broken bones a reason to stop skiing
Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in again. That’s what the Godfather said when he tried to leave the Mafia behind. That’s the way I feel about leaving behind the winter sport of downhill skiing. The boards have been packed away in the barn for three …
EMMET MEARA
A Giant fear for Foxborough
I am afraid. Very afraid. I am afraid the Patriots will win Sunday at Gillette Stadium. I am afraid that the Giants will win Sunday in San Francisco. Do you know what that means? A Patriots-Giants Super Bowl. I still haven’t got over the last one. If you are Irish …
In search for good Western films, a gem is found
I once knew a fisherman in Rockland who showed up with the most amazing woman you have ever seen, year after year. Naturally, I asked him the secret to his success. He replied, proudly, “You knock on 100 doors; someone is going to open one.” That theory came to mind …
National Weather Service issues winter storm watch for Wednesday in Maine
Orono man gets a surprise: 4 bears living not far from his front door
LePage touts Open for Business zones, where workers would not be required to pay union fees
Hermon woman arrested after allegedly smoking pot at eye center, refusing to leave
Mutant lobsters discovered in Casco Bay
30 percent of private colleges won’t survive next 10 years, predicts Husson official
Oh, baby! How just $500 can boost the aspirations of a state
Safety net pole hits Mainers after Boston Bruins game at TD Garden
Pistorius breaks down, retches as girlfriend’s wounds are described during murder trial
UMaine women’s basketball team sparks optimism with turnaround season
UMaine hockey eager to avenge home losses to Friars in Providence as NCAA Tournament looms
Scientist: Odd-looking Maine lobsters are not mutants, and still safe to eat
Daniel Williams named interim director of Collins Center for the Arts
Argyle pipe welder refurbishing statue of soldier in effort to restore Orono Civil War monument
Thank you, Maine Discovery Museum.