Expressway: Where ideas intersect

Got a viewpoint you want to express?

Expressway is a new, weekly feature publishing readers' original, nonfiction opinion essays about daily life on Long Island or about the news of the day and how it affects their lives. All readers are invited to submit essays, and we especially welcome submissions from high school and college students. Send submissions of 300 to 600 words to oped @ newsday.com, with "Expressway" in the subject line. Or mail submissions to Expressway / Opinion Dept., Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747. Please include your name and phone number.

December 20, 2008

Barack Obama, I quit smoking- all the time!

President-elect Barack Obama's smoking habit is in the news again.

November 15, 2008

Teaching kids 'no' in this economy

I'm not sure who I feel worse for these days, parents or kids. In this economy, formerly acquiescent and well-heeled parents are going to face the monumental challenge of reprogramming their kids to understand the word "no."

November 8, 2008

Newspapers, for me, are black, white, a good read

"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

November 1, 2008

Vote for gay marriage a tough call this election

Vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin recently broke from her running mate, Sen. John McCain, by announcing that she would support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

October 25, 2008

Plastic grocery bags are a hard habit to break

Good morning! How are you today?" The pretty young clerk welcomed me with a smile as my groceries traveled down the conveyor belt at the checkout counter.

October 18, 2008

A place for skateboarding, a most excellent sport

Since its creation in the early 1950s, skateboarding has always caught the eye of the public.

October 11, 2008

Losing a job? Just plain careless

Almost six months ago, I lost my job. At first I thought I might have misplaced it. I've done that with my keys a few times. So I checked all my pants pockets. But no go.

September 20, 2008

Remembering Coney Island, beach, roller coaster

When I was a child, my grandmother used to get a kick out of my running Hot Wheels cars down a track set up from the kitchen all the way into the living room. She called it "The scenic railway." I never knew why she called it such a thing, until years later, when I got a chance to experience Coney Island and the famed roller coaster she recalled.

September 13, 2008

The front porch is face of a home

As summer segues to fall, the porch takes center stage with harvest scenes and, before you know it, Halloween. The focus shifts from busy barbecues out back to the autumnal serenity of the front porch with its rocking chair-ready appeal. The pool and deck may lay claim to summer fun, but the porch is the place from which parents lead their little ones to the school bus stop, and where homeowners welcome trick-or-treaters - scarecrows acting as sentries sitting atop bales of hay amidst jack o'lanterns with craggy grins, corn stalks standing tall against columns and posts.

April 19, 2008

Expressway: New York baseball, in your dreams

A lot has changed in baseball today. Joe Torre's in Los Angeles, Joe Girardi's back in pinstripes, and both Shea and Yankee stadiums are coming down. For added shock, it's been 50 years since the Dodgers broke every heart in Brooklyn by moving away.