If age has taught me one lesson, it’s that the past is not prologue to the future. Even so, the media is awash with pundits acting as touts, giving political tips to anyone who will listen. David Faris’ recent article in The Week, for example, offers a damning critique of how the

There are two occasions when a person ought to reflect upon the words of John F. Kennedy’s: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. The first is during a time of war when citizens are asked to defend their nation.  The second occurs in a perio

Standing in the mail room of the retirement center, I noticed my cubby hole sported no green dot like that of my neighbor’s.  Curious, I asked a woman who was passing what the dot meant.  She seemed surprised by my question but answered politely.  “The green dot  indicates the

Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes an intriguing article about why social media appears to have gone tribal, influencing the rest of society.  Surprisingly, our perception may not be the case.  After all, social networks are designed to give us what we want. Is it possible we want tribalism?

For the last two weeks, I’ve been grappling with computer problems. Eventually, I had to replace the hard drive, which posed its own difficulties.  This week, I’m restoring passwords and codes for my accounts with limited success. For some reason, that little drop box that enable

Needing a break from all the heated political debate, I kicked off my shoes yesterday and sat down to read the latest edition of Town&Country.  I wondered how the beautiful people avoided ill-tempered frown lines? Naturally, I didn’t expect to see  Donald Trump among those in

I’ll never quit cable television.  It’s not a matter of principal but one of fact. Cable comes with my retirement center contract. I seldom use it.  If I’m not watching OPB,  a Netflix  disc is my second choice for entertainment.  So, I wasn’t surprised to read, recently,

I’m all for confidence but the just turned 30, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez  (AOC) has an assurance that leaves me breathless. Having won a Congressional house seat from New York, she has certainly hit the ground running. But does she know the terrain, I wonder. Certainly, the number of

I’m at an age when my young friends begin to worry about me. They note with puzzlement that I decline their invitations to see a play, a movie or go to the symphony.  Am I depressed?  Am I ill? The answer is “none of the above.” I’m old. I eschew the hurly-burly of street bu

Rejection is an experience common to most of us. Sometimes the rebuff is personal.  Sometimes it isn’t. Either way, we must get past our hurt feelings or be lost in a bog. Here’s an example of how fear of rejection can make a situation worse. For the past several months I’ve be