Cincinnati Magazine
February 16, 2021
I know this is a stupid question. I recently moved to Madisonville, which is delightful in many ways. And I discovered two streets here, right next to each other, named Homer and Simpson! D’oh! It’s a coincidence, of course. But do these streets have any interesting stories? I DON’T HAVE A COW
Illustration by Lars Leetaru
DEAR COW:
Shall we be kind, dear Reader, and simply blame the stress of the past year for this person’s question? Or, following the Doctor’s recent attempt to find Cincinnati’s oldest working telephone number (November 2020), might we suspect an attempt to up the ante of triviality?
Cincinnati Magazine
Illustration by Lars Leetaru
It’s an age-old question that supposedly divides us into two camps: Do you work to live, or do you live to work? In other words, is work something you do in order to afford a lifestyle, or is work your primary identity? Is work the means or the end itself?
As with most important aspects of life, the question presents a false choice. The better conjunction is
and, not
or. Think about similar ways to analyze yourself: Are you good or bad? Introvert or extrovert? Conservative or liberal? Compassionate or selfish? Ninety-nine percent of us spend our days along the spectrum of these polar opposites, a little of this at times and some of that at other times.
Cincinnati Magazine
January 11, 2021
On either side of the sidewalk approaching the Clifton Area Neighborhood Schools, two enormous green pipes rise out of the ground and then curve back down. They look like giant synchronized eels. Are they just wayward sewer pipes or the school’s art installation? I really can’t tell. PIPE PUZZLED
Illustration by Lars Leetaru
DEAR PUZZLED:
The Doctor sympathizes. Kids these days, combined with modern art these days, combined with these days leave everyone confused. But relax: The green protuberances gracefully curving up and back down into the ground on Clifton Avenue are not eels. Nor are they the impassioned art project of a student majoring in Stormwater Management. (“I call this one