When I served in local politics,  I, and some of my predecessors, worked hard to shut down a local nursing home in the eastern corner of the county.  It was rickety and posed health hazards for the residents, but it had an antebellum grandeur and its patients, who had lived there ma

As I wrote in a recent blog, one of the big worries in the US stock market is the fallen price of oil. (Blog 1/16/16)  The second worry is China, our trading partner.  When that nation hiccups, investors here pay attention. At the moment the country poses a two-pronged worry.  Firs

As the 2016 presidential campaign shifts into high gear, my Facebook page has become a minefield of  political rhetoric. People are choosing sides and a few are strident.  Nonetheless, at a time when opinions appear to be pulling the country apart, Ronald Inglehart, professor of Pol

Artificial intelligence (AI):  Will it bring in the best or the worst of times?  That is the question futurists, philosopher, techies and scientists are debating.  Recently, Stephen Hawking chipped in with his opinion: we are doomed.  Certainly, robotics is turning our economy on

Isabel Allende has many fans, though I’m not among them.  Nonetheless, I did stop to scan a short article she’d written for AARP Magazine. (“Beads, Books and Bijoux,” by Isabel Allende, AARP, Dec 2015/Jan 2016, pgs. 60-61.) In it, she reveals that creating jewelry enhances he

Unlike chocolate, I can’t say I’ve never met a wine I didn’t like.  A few exist. That said, I only imbibe when I’m out to dinner with friends, and more specifically, with a couple who have more vintages aging in their cellar than there are stars in the sky.  What’s more, t

I’m going to tell a story on myself in the hope of making a point.  Last week I went to pick up a new pair of glasses.  Twice I went back to the store to have the frames adjusted.  On each occasion, I was assisted by the same clerk.  Neither adjustment worked. When the young man

I came across an amusing essay by Katie Roiphe, recently, in which she advised the hostess of a dinner party to include single people in the mix.  (“Odd One In,” by Katie Roiphe, Town&Country, Feb. 2016, pg. 82,86.)  Couples, she insists, “rarely engage in electrifying tal

The image accompanying today’s blog is the work of one of my Facebook friends.  I asked if I could share his image with my readers as I admired the fluidity of the brush strokes and their almost mystical innocence. Having studied both Japanese and Chinese painting styles, I appreci

Big changes are afoot at my retirement center in the new year.   My Zumba exercise class has been cancelled and though dancing is the least hateful way for me to exercise, I confess I’m happy about it.  I loathed the music.  What’s more, the tunes stayed with me days after the