My high school math teacher, Mr. Crawford, taught me a great lesson in life. I don’t remember much about the right angles of an isosceles triangle, but I do remember his adage: Your freedom stops where somebody’s chin begins. Personal freedom isn’t absolute. If I am to have it,

“Politician Won’t Seek Higher Office,” the headline screamed. The reference was to an interview where I’d said I wasn’t moving my office to a 17th-floor high rise along with my fellow county commissioners.  I hated elevators and worried about public access. The newspaper ba

My Salinger Year is an entertaining film. In this coming-of-age story, a young poet is hired at a literary agency that represents J. D. Salinger.  Her job is to shred unread letters from the author’s fans, but after scanning a heartfelt few, she decides to answer them. The plot unr

According to historians, the Age of Enlightenment dominated western thinking in the 17 and 18th centuries. Coming on the heels of the Scientific Revolution, it valued evidence of the senses, individual liberty, religious tolerance, and a separation between church and state. The major

Sometimes, in the course of human affairs, actions are so preposterous, laws don’t exist to prevent them from occurring.  For example, no one has suggested we need a rule that bars killer whales from competing in Olympic swimming competitions.  Dogs aren’t required to have drive

A blog I wrote about publishing memoirs drew different opinions.  One woman said I sounded cynical.  Another said the piece was droll. I tend to vote with the latter opinion, but the difference between the two illustrates a lesson I learned from my journalism teacher in high school.

The budget pamphlet in my mailbox was titled “Financial Realities.”  I laughed.  As a person once responsible for a  $200 million budget, I know financial realities are imaginary.  Budgets are guestimates of the future based on the unlikely assumption that history will repeat

A year ago, I threw in the towel.  By then my memoir had received more than 100 agent rejections.  Presuming the fault was mine, I decided to rewrite the manuscript. The editor I’d hired to critique the original draft had called that version “literature.” She and I were the on

Tooth extraction!  Taking the day off.  See you Tuesday, August 9.

He said it was okay to cheat. A well-known political pundit gave a thumbs up when the Democrats dumped money into the Republican campaigns of candidates who are an embarrassment to that party. Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who serves on the January 6 Commission, finds this