THE HEROES AMONG US One of those Nick Adams stories by Ernest Hemingway begins with an image of starving wolves. They’re so hungry they devour their own entrails. In a strange way, it might have been an image of Hemingway’s life, a man who pushed himself to satisfy his pas

LAUGHTER THAT KILLS In 1729 Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal” in which he suggested the Irish poor might ease their penury by selling their children as food to satisfy the refined tastes of wealthy Lords and Ladies. His purpose was to satirize the heartless attitude

VULNERABILITY THAT BECAME LEGEND Marilyn Monroe still compels 49 years after her death. She even wrote two of the many books about her life and career. Not even Elizabeth Taylor, equally beautiful and living a life that often made headlines, seems to have captured the public’s imagi

v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} MORE CHAPTERS FOUND A while back I wrote that one of the frustrations with being a teacher is to watch students graduate and never hear from them

JUST ASKING I picked up a book at the dollar store the other day by George Lakoff, “The Political Mind.”  In it I found a succinct description of the difference between the public and private sector: Protection and empowerment are part of the moral mission of government. That is

TREES ARE NEITHER RIGHT NOR WRONG I’ve mentioned Joyce Kilmer’s poem, “Trees” before.  It begins:                     “I think that I shall never see                     A poem lovely as a tree…” But as I walked through the park this

SOMETIMES WORDS REALLY DO MATTER  (in memory of 9/11) In their book, “Listen Up, Mr. President” coauthors Helen Tomas and Craig Crawford offer examples of speeches made by presidents in a time of crisis, words that helped to hold the nation together. Few question the importance o

TWO ENDS OF THE SAME STRING After watching the growing divisions in Congress and within the two political Parties, I got to thinking the other day about the film “One Million BC,” a knock off of Conan Doyle’s novel, “Lost Worlds.” The film was first produced

REBELLIOUS THOUGHTS AS MIDNIGHT NEARS The hour was late for me — almost 12 p.m. — when, nearing the end of Haruki Murakami’s book “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World,” I read the following lines:           “…the absence of fighti

NOW I AM 75 Today, I am 75. As I’ve said many times, while I would love to look like a 21 year-old, I wouldn’t give up what I’ve learned about life for a few less wrinkles.  It’s not a bad trade off, youth for experience. Imagine how you would answer if a fairy godmother were