Chatting over coffee, a friend told a joke that not only made me laugh, but also made me think:  “Donald Trump dies and finds God peering down at him from his golden throne.  ‘Well Donald,’ God asks in a booming voice.  ‘What have you to say for yourself?’&nbs

I wrote a blog recently (1/16/17) that mentioned Planned Parenthood favorably.  The next day a man remarked he could never support a group that sold baby parts.  Surprised, I considered my two choices.  I could attempt to educate a man with the grammar of a two-year-old

Recently, I had a long chat with my broker.  The subject was how long I could be expected to live and how that projection could affect my investment funds. My mother is 100.  Assuming I inherited her longevity genes, I could go on for another 20 years.  My father and hi

Clutter can be a sign of a creative mind at work.  Clive Thompson writes that a person with pack rat behavior may have an effective “organizational strategy.” Call it, “serendipity.” (“Clutter Clash,” by Clive Thompson, Wired, March 2016, pg. 49.)  When disparate

A new chapter has opened for the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris. (Blog 12/30/14)  Having endured the German invasion of World War II, this bookstore, home to waves of struggling and famous writers, would have died with its owner, Sylvia Beach, if George Whitman hadn�

A while ago, I wrote a blog suggesting that while oil stocks are depressed, it might be a good time to invest in them, because the economy isn’t going to eliminate fossil fuels any time soon. The observation irked one reader enough to drop his subscription to my blog, and I got a co

On the way to the gym at my retirement center, there’s a table with a small basket resting on it.  Sometimes the basket is empty.  Sometimes it isn’t  When it isn’t, it’s full of condolence cards addressed to the family of a resident who has died.  As yet I know so few peo

The other day a friend was gossiping about a party his daughter threw for a few friends after their final year of college.  Much of the conversation was about how to pay off their student loans.  One young woman volunteered she had no debt.  Her grandparents had provide

One of the adjustments I’ve had to make at the retirement center where I’ve moved is that I’m obliged to associate with people I don’t know but with whom I am now living cheek by jowl.  There must be 300 residents in the complex and odds are that when I sit down to a mea

One of the disadvantages of living in my new location is there are no used booksellers nearby.  I’m beginning to miss the convenience of my snooty bookstore even though they  treated my trade-ins as if they were used oil rags.  At least I had access to cheaper books.  And I miss