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J.P. Devine
  • Published
    December 14, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: Oh, for a silent night

    Is there any truth to the rumor that the CIA used "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" as a torture device when interrogating prisoners? An apocryphal tale perhaps, but I can see its value.

  • Published
    December 7, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: The Santa at the end of the bar

    There are pictures around somewhere, ancient snapshots taken with even more ancient box Kodaks, of me sitting in some Great Depression-era Santa's lap. I do remember my first visit to Santa. It began in the caged elevator of Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, somewhere around 1938.

  • Published
    November 30, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: This kind of money changes everything, ‘friends’

    As you read this, you probably already know that I've won the $550 million Powerball lottery. There is a chance, of course, that I did not. That's ridiculous, but I have to say it. I'm a very positive person, and have already started a list of things I'm going to do with the money.

  • Published
    November 23, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: Password to the wise

    It's the password thing. My early memories of the password were simple: a game show, or the code spoken in the dark, so you didn't get shot. But the rules are different now, and at my advanced age I have moved -- no, fallen -- headlong into the 21st century.

  • Published
    November 16, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: Judy from Jersey

    She was tall, Judy was, maybe 5 feet, 11 inches in her bare feet. I confess a life-long passion for tall girls. I called her Judy and she never liked it. Her name was Judith, and she insisted that everyone who knew her call her that, because she wanted to be an opera singer and Judy wouldn't cut it.

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  • Published
    November 2, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: My lesson from Andre: Vote

    We were the only two tenants on the fifth floor. I was the struggling actor, with a view of a street bordered with colored, discarded doors where they were tearing down our neighborhood, just down from West 67th and Columbus, a space that would soon become Lincoln Center.

  • Published
    October 27, 2012

    ON THE EDGE: This crop always arrives on time

    OMG, they're back. The gnats are gone, the mosquitos are looking for puddles and black flies are toast. But THEY are back.

  • Published
    October 19, 2012

    J.P. DEVINE: Gordon and the leaves

    "The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared." -- Lois Lowry

  • Published
    October 12, 2012

    J.P. DEVINE: Obits as actuary table?

    Here's one. She's 93. This must be an old picture, but 93 is a pretty good age at which to pass. It doesn't help me much. She's a she, and she people seem to live longer than he people.

  • Published
    October 5, 2012

    J.P. DEVINE: OMG. I’m on Facebook

    OMG. I'm so excited. I think I'm on. I followed all the instructions given me by my daughters who are on, along with a zillion other people on the planet, and there I am with my picture and resume and some information.