We’ve made it another year around the sun, and it’s time to look back at some of the columns and essays our writers shared in 2025.
From stories about family road trips and traditions, to finding humor in less-than-fun circumstances, to honoring those we’ve lost, we hope this curated collection will help you start 2026 well-read.
Better The Next Day
As we sift through what to keep and what to throw away from 2025, enjoy this column from Marion Winik paying tribute to leftovers.
January River
Jalynn Harris recounted a frightening start to the year, when a deer jumped out in front of her car.
Hope Springs Eternal, Especially on Spring Break
In the spring, Marion Winik shared her tales of slow dancing and Scrabble games with a man in search of limousine.
Tuna, salmon and their cod-awful friends can steer clear of this fish-averse writer’s Good Friday plate
Weekly Friday meals of seafood led to Frederick N. Rasmussen’s aversion to fish — and to this essay all these years later.
The ‘Bowel Movement Rental’ Agency & The Nightmare on Lakeview Avenue
Jalynn Harris recalled their first time living with a close friend–an experience that ultimately brought them closer together through the nightmares of strange smells, mice infestations, broken appliances, and a racist property manager.
On Writing a Picture Book that Makes Moms Cry
Tracy C. Gold reflected on her mother’s selfless mothering and the process of writing a picture book that makes moms cry.
Back Seat Combat: Road Trips in the 1950s
Frederick N. Rasmussen recounts his family’s summer roadtrips in the 1950s, characterized by witty Burma-Shave roadside signs, sibling squabbles, and a lack of air conditioning.
Credit: Macon Street Books
Stories from my mother: The rosary before television
Rafael Alvarez’s mother, Gloria Theresa Jones, needed to join in the rosary with her friends’ family before they could watch television in the 1950s.
Epilogue: The Story of My Father
Shay D. Potter reflects on their experience taking care of a dad who learned to show love late in life.
Audiences will see our lost bridge in ‘The Baltimorons’
Dan Rodricks wrote about “The Baltimorons” movie, which features what is likely the last cinematic capture of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge at night.
Ellen, of All People
Marion Winik pays tribute to her dear friend Ellen, who loved to laugh and had a gift for acceptance and living in the now.
Sarah Mislak Gentry: A light you wanted to be near
Rafael Alvarez remembers Sarah Mislak Gentry, a bright light who excelled at cooking and crafts. She died in July at age 46.
Compelled to remember 5 from Maryland lost this day in Vietnam
On Nov. 17, 1965, five Maryland men died on the deadliest day in the fierce battles of the Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War. Dan Rodricks honors them in this column.
Memories of Thanksgiving sauerkraut on a wooden ship
Rafael Alvarez shares the far-flung family traditions that the crew of the Pride of Baltimore II bring to a shipboard Thanksgiving in Baltimore.
