I hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day. Yesterday I mentioned how each generation seems to be associated with a war. History repeats, but not in the same way. The War on Terror and its related actions have been unique in that we have a peacetime home front despite vicious fighting in multiple locations. The
It seems every generation has a war. My father’s was World War II, as part of the “Greatest Generation”. Mine was Vietnam, not nearly as satisfying. Today it’s the war on terror. We have never been militaristic. We’ve always preferred to be isolationist with a small peacetime armed force. We prefer our wars short and
Recently we passed a major milestone of Western civilization — the birthday of the table knife was May 13, 1637. According to The Writers’ Almanac of that date (this year, of course), its father is considered to be Cardinal Richelieu of France. (http://writersalmanac.org/page/16/) The Cardinal ordered his kitchen staff to file off the sharp
Every once in awhile, I read something that gives me pause. The latest was on the New York magazine’s “Science of Us” page on its website. An article entitled “Tears Are a Luxury Item” discusses recent research on an unlikely topic — why we cry. http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/03/tears-are-a-luxury-item.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Science%20of%20Us%20-%20May%2013%2C%202016&utm_term=Subscription%20List%20-%20Science%20of%20Us%20%281%20Year%29 This question goes back to Charles Darwin. He tried
This week wrapped up my eleventh year as a substitute teacher. I’ve slowed down the last three; in fact I officially retired in 2013 and have just worked a day or two a week during that period. But it’s still a lot of fun (most of the time) and I have another year on my
I recently ran across a more positive way to look at immigration. Viewing this from the perspective of the individuals who are making the journey, many are girls and young women who are vulnerable to exploitation along the way. But there is an organization that’s trying to protect them. The Tahirih Justice Center, named after
Spring is always a bad time for tornadoes in the Midwest. I remember the devastating storm that hit Xenia, Ohio in the 1970s. Which is why a feature in the May 19th edition of EarthSky News caught my eye. I’m copying the basic information here. The complete article can be found at http://earthsky.org/earth/4-basic-questions-about-tornadoes? The photo
Occasionally I post some original poetry. I don’t write as much poetry as I once did, but I’m interested enough to subscribe to a “Poem of the Day” from The Poetry Foundation. I’ll admit I’m something of a purist; poetry to me should rhyme, and a lot of what I see today is the freest
If you’ve never heard of a performer named Candy Candido, it’s time I filled you in. Candy was born Jonathan Joseph Candido in New Orleans on December 25, 1913, and passed away on May 19, 1999 in Burbank, CA at the age of 85. He is remembered as a radio performer, bass player, vocalist and
On April 20th, I wrote about the challenges of having to feed at least two billion more mouths by 2050 in “A Simple Way to Feed the World.” That way was cutting down on food waste. Here’s another. Granted, any topic dealing with eating bugs is a sure turn-off for most people, but an article