“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” written by a 22 year-old T. S. Eliot, turns a hundred this year. A brilliant poem, according to those who keep the cannon, though many despaired it was written by a man deemed a fascists, whose title character was named after a furniture

There’s a gaggle of men, all over 90,  who hang together at my retirement center.  Often, I join them for coffee and the laughter can get pretty rowdy.  Sometimes, though, I’ll find one of them dozing in an overstuffed chair in the lobby.  Whichever one it is, I always hope he

In a recent interview, Nobel winner Toni Morrison talked about growing up as an African American and what color and beauty meant within the black community.  At Howard University, which she attended, she said there was a test for beauty.  The ideal was to have skin no darker than th

There was a time not long ago when government funded most of the medical research in this country.  (“Tech’s Quest for Immortality,” reprint from The Washington Post article by Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Week, May 8, 3/15 pg. 37.)  Now, two-thirds of that research is funded by bi

When I was a senior in college, I took a class in art history from a beloved professor, Lloyd Reynolds. On the day our final exams were returned, the professor called out my name and discovering I had skipped class, he read my essay to those present.   After he’d finished, he conc

I can think of nothing spookier and more like science fiction than turning to a robot for advice on my savings and retirement accounts but, believe or not, the time is neigh.  Two companies, Betterment and Wealthfront are betting their robots can provide quality advice and undercut e

At the retirement center I’m learning the fine art of living in a community while retaining my solitude.  The impulse of others to be welcoming is touching, so I am developing ways to assure my neighbors that solitude isn’t synonymous with being lonely. Solitude is a quest for a

Walking the streets of my new neighborhood, I saw a sign posted on a telephone pole.  The notice announced a tenants’ rent control meeting.  I could understand why such a gathering was necessary.  Thanks to gentrification, affordable housing has declined at an alarming degree, sh

When I took yoga classes a while ago, the teacher kept reminding her students to breathe. I thought that was strange because breathing is as natural as, well…. breathing. But, Emma Sepala, PhD at Stanford University and co-author of a book on post-traumatic stress affirms that, “t