Holidays

My New Year’s doleful weather prediciton (or why I don’t go to Vegas and gamble).

On New Year’s Day, the air in Baltimore was dense and heavy. Nearly 60 degrees outside, humidity at 98 percent …

Buying champagne for New Year’s Eve? These are the best vintages of the last 100 years.

Christie’s—the venerable, global auction house—says when buying Champagne, it’s important to understand not only which vintages are great, but also …

Re-captioned: Thanksgiving Triggers with a tip o’ the hat to the late Bob Weber.

You didn’t mess with my mother when she was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I’m remembering those times by writing a few …

Creepy. Crawley. Cursed. From CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, E.G. Marshall narrates Black Widow.

It’s no secret—spiders aren’t on my list of cool critters. I know spiders do good things and are a necessary …

A Halloween treat: Cary Grant stars in an intense episode of Suspense—On A Country Road.

Suspense was a radio drama series broadcast on CBS from 1940 through 1962. It was one of the premier drama programs of radio’s golden age, and …

Happy days are here again! Macy’s July 4th Fireworks celebration returns to NYC for 2021.

Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks first burst over the New York City skyline with a special U.S. bicentennial show in 1976. …

On Juneteenth, I’m listening to the voices of former slaves as they tell their stories.

Last week I received an email from Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress. In part she wrote, “This June, we …

Here’s the secret to perfect roast chestnuts—no street vendor or open fire required.

I bought my first brown-paper bag of roast chestnuts in New York City on a bitterly cold winter night more …

I sure hope the coming ’21 turns out better than this 21.

Happy New Year, everyone. Cheers!

From Baltimore’s Petite Louis Bistro, take-home for New Year’s Eve. I’ll start with lobster bisque.

Petit Louis is a Baltimore landmark, a treasured restaurant, and sharing holiday meals there are a tradition for many families. …

Merry Christmas! I’m sending you a tune to brighten your holiday. Thanks for reading BrockelPress.

In many ways, 2020 has been the year from hell, hasn’t it? I’ve been working from home since March 13 …

You can’t go to Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular this year. (Psst. The show can come to you.)

The news.While Radio City Music Hall’s annual Christmas Spectacular won’t have live audiences this year, NBC will air a taped view of …

Attending Easter Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral often required winning a lottery. Not this year.

Traditionally, getting a front-pew seat for Easter Sunday Solemn Mass at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral has been an …

Early Christmas morning. Our boy, Mr. Baxter wanted his presents and he wanted them now.

The story of our Marian Ruth Agree sculpture, 491 is here. It’s a dark piece, yet it enlightens us.