Peter Pavia

  The Blessed Mother. The Virgin Mary. Holy Mary, Mother of God. The mother of Jesus is renowned under these titles and many, many more, and the Church Fathers, among theologians and believers across the ages, have held to the idea that the entire Christian story begins with... Read More →

    Traces of handwriting appeared on the wall, and not for the first time, December 12, 2019. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced, with a self-serving press release—is there another kind? —that commencing with the coming calendar year, all training and... Read More →

  One frigid afternoon not long ago, I stood overlooking the paddock at the Aqueduct racetrack, doing my best to evaluate the entries in the upcoming contest; it was an event for younger horses who had never won a race, or maidens. A couple of them were going out for the... Read More →

The setting was the East Village in the mid-1990s, and we were just two of the many writers you could have conked if you threw a rock in any direction. We had washed out of the arts and culture scene of the previous decade, and although we didn’t know each other then, we were... Read More →

  A long time ago, when I attended community college, I’d show up for classes I liked and either drop or take “incompletes” for those I didn’t. Later, I drifted over to State U, where, bolstered by stupidity and pride, I tried to fashion a degree program unaligned with... Read More →

  On a nothing August Saturday, with little more on my mind than the afternoon races at Saratoga, I picked up a copy of the New York Post and headed home to fix myself a sandwich. Lurid crime, political scandal, questionable celebrity antics—I don’t remember what was... Read More →

  A figure that looms large in the Christian story, Pontius Pilate is cited by name in both the Apostles Creed—which has roots in the second century—and the more explicit and detailed Nicene Creed, adopted in 325 AD. The verifiable facts of Pilate’s life, however, are few.... Read More →

  Factionalism and division, partisanship and parties. Sides. Teams. Colors. The conflict reverberating in those words harkens back, like many of the darker expressions of our humanity, to the Roman Empire—and the racetrack. Horse racing was an integral part of Roman culture... Read More →

  A baby, propped up in a stroller, is touching buttons on an iPhone or some cruder gaming device. Wearing candy-colored eyeglasses that look like a prize in a Cracker Jack box, the baby gazes contentedly at the screen. Stationed at the handles and absently steering along... Read More →

    In this seaside community in Beautiful British Columbia (as their license plates proclaim) where my mother- and father-in-law retired, seventy-five steel steps separate the trail where the staircase begins and the beach that lies below at the foot of a steep... Read More →