Basketball jones

When I first heard the term “Basketball Jones,”* I figured it could mean one of two things: either it was a fanciful name for a guy who likes to play, or it was a descriptive phrase for a great yearning to play basketball around the clock. Since I didn’t know which, I took the only […]

Who is Disfear Dube?

There’s a monkey on my shoulder, and his name is Disfear Dube. There, I said it. I expect I’d better elaborate. First, the monkey. This creature in its many guises provides lots of imagery for our lives, not all of it compatible with the rest. During my college theater days, we spoke of the “monkey” […]

A Plinth for Medusa

Younger Son noticed that the little statue of Medusa, which he was going to paint and use in an Overly Complicated Board Game, had a muscular tail that hung down below her feet. “Hmmm,” said Elder Son. “How will she stand up?” “She needs a plinth,” I piped up. Usually, I remain stoically mute when […]

The Bath

Chapter Sixteen in “Decades with the Squad,” by my late father, William Palmer Jervey, Jr. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. The truth of this old saying was borne out in the episode of a simpleton literally racing the clock on his way from Powhatan to Richmond. An attractive young lady of Powhatan had the misfortune […]