What Does New Years Mean to You? By Veronica MacDonald Ditko An Accidental Anthropologist Many New Year’s traditions are about banishing bad spirits for an entire year. Whether it’s a Sicilian custom of having the darkest-haired person run from the back door to the front at midnight, or Mexican custom […]
Spicing up the Holidays By Veronica MacDonald Ditko An Accidental Anthropologist Staring at my cup of hot cider, there is a strange brown stick peeking out. Like a caveman, I poke at it, and cleverly use it to stir my drink. It is sweet and woody and I wonder if […]
Light Lessons Learned from Hurricane Sandy By Veronica MacDonald Ditko An Accidental Anthropologist Most areas in North Jersey were relatively unscathed by the combination of Hurricane Sandy and a Nor’easter (which I will call Fred). Nearly every town lost power but people learned to make do. I’m pretty sure people […]
Have a Hike with History By Veronica MacDonald Ditko An Accidental Anthropologist You may regard parks as great places to get away and enjoy the scenery. And you should. But most parks in our area have substantial histories too. Harriman Park in Rockland County, NY was once a grand estate […]
Communications Overload By Veronica MacDonald Ditko At any given moment while at work, I have two email accounts open, a telephone, and a cell phone next to me. And the cell phone can receive messages either through voice mail or text messages (I haven’t even gotten the internet feature yet). […]
Coasting Through Local Beaches By Veronica MacDonald Ditko An Accidental Anthropologist My husband was listening to the radio the other day. A well-known celebrity was gushing about how she loved New Jersey, it’s music, and even spent a lot of time on the “Jersey Coast.” My husband cringed. My neck […]
