If Your Son Looked Like the Milkman
A thriving Spark’s Dairy circa 1958
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The Hunt for Gardoons
When I was a child, I remember how on chilly mornings in early spring, solitary figures armed with sharp knives and paper bags would leave their West Side homes on a mission both secret and urgent. This clandestine army would walk or drive along roads and parks, woods, fields, and empty lots, looking for a […]
Gardens That Heal
Last summer I visited an old friend: the Botanical Gardens in the south of Buffalo. I’d had a tough year, with multiple loved ones suffering a variety of serious illnesses, and I needed a respite from the stress. My son and his girlfriend, knowing I’m a Master Gardener, suggested we visit the Botanical Gardens and […]
What the World Needs Now Is…More Holidays!
Growing up in Buffalo, we had a Valentine’s Day tradition that, as far as I can tell, was unique to our family. During the day, we exchanged paper valentines with our classmates, but when it grew dark, our family would wait in breathless anticipation for the annual visit of “The Big Man.” We would be […]
When the Yard Became a Skating Rink
Every January, my father would drag out our old stiff garden hose and turn it on until the backyard was flooded, moving the nozzle every so often to ensure the ice formed as evenly as possible. We didn’t have a Zamboni machine so the inevitable bumps and divots would form over tufts of grass and […]
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
I was visited in a dream last night by the Ghost of Christmas Past. He held my hand as we flew past my old church on the West Side, dropped some coins in the collection box, and paused to listen to the choir singing at midnight mass. On we went. Past AM&A’s department store. A […]
It Bit Me on the Rocks of Lake Erie
Several readers have put the question to me: “Moxie, your website says ‘A West Side Girl in the Big Wide World.’ We’ve heard about your West Side experiences. What’s this ‘Big Wide World’ stuff?” Fair enough. Living on the West Side of Buffalo shaped the outline of who I am. The big wide world has […]
Chestnut Time at the Armory
One of my favorite memories growing up in Buffalo was the annual trip my brothers and I would take each fall to collect chestnuts at the Connecticut Street Armory. At least, we thought they were chestnuts.
Nonni and the Loaves and Fishes
Don’t let the name Gardiner fool you—I had a Sicilian grandmother. She and my grandfather lived on the West Side of Buffalo in an upstairs flat with three small bedrooms and one bath. They had eight children (and adopted two more) who were likewise highly accomplished in producing offspring, so I shared my grandparents with […]
So You Think You’d Like to Write a Book…
Four years ago, when I decided to write a novel set in Buffalo, I did the worst thing I could possibly do. I looked up “what it takes to write a novel” on the Internet. I did not find loads of encouragement.
Chlorine, Hot Tar, and Baby Oil
What is more evocative than the heady smells of summer—a freshly mowed lawn, meats on the grill, fat little funnel cakes frying at the fair? For me, however, the smells of summer will be tied forever to the summers of my youth, and the pungent aromas of the Massachusetts Swimming Pool.
The Buffalo I Have Lost and Found
I went back to my hometown this summer to visit family and friends, and to do research for my nearly completed novel, set in Buffalo during the late 1960s. As is so often the case when I write stories, I learn things about myself in the process that surprise me. I discovered, for example, that […]