Stan Grossfeld

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Stan Grossfeld

Jeff Zynda of Quincy downs a shot of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky with other crew members of Defiance on the docks. Consider it “Opening Day” for the summer season, and the sailors come to compete from all over the Northeast for the three-day weekend. “It’s like a reunion of friends is what it is. We sail. We could be doing anything. We could be climbing rocks. It doesn’t matter. It really is the first big regatta in the Northeast of the season.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Stan Grossfeld

“We couldn’t see them (but) we knocked them out one at a time. We went down and we looked inside their tanks. They had armor-piercing ammo, but they were firing high explosion. They didn’t know the difference. They thought, if it didn’t make a big boom, they’re not doing anything. They didn’t know what they were doing.”Leo J Vaillancourt, 95, was a gunner on a M46 Patton tank in Korea. The sight of the old WWII tanks behind him makes him reflective.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Stan Grossfeld

Before everyone starts whining about the consecutive rainy weekend streak hitting ten, about deer destroying their precious gardens, the dandelions invading their lawns, let’s stop and appreciate what we’ve got in the Hub in the middle of May. It is gorgeous. There are 8 p.m. sunsets. The sun is warm, but the air is still cool and salty coming off the ocean. Everything is pulsating with color and life. A crystal clear sunset behind the First Parish Church in Dorchester.

1 month ago | bostonglobe.com | Stan Grossfeld

Decades ago, I stayed here with my wife. She took a yoga class, I relaxed and read a book of quotes by my favorite Yogi. It's 6 a.m. at Kripalu, and fog hugs the Stockbridge Bowl. The silence here is accentuated by the quiet unfolding of spring. Desperately seeking silence, I enlist the aid of Jess Frey, a Kripalu yoga educator, life coach, and artist who conducts the silent retreats here.

2 months ago | bostonglobe.com | Stan Grossfeld

“People still somewhat stigmatize cat owners,” said Christian Cherau, northeast regional director of the International Cat Association, who says cats are more fun. He has heard all the hissing about cats. A black Bombay cat meows during the judging at the Catsachusetts Cat Convention. “They’re dirty; they can’t be trained. That they can be mean; their kids aren’t good with them; that they fight with dogs,” he said.