COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY – ANOTHER NAME FOR CHEATING? Several years ago I heard a psychologist say that people who were creative risked becoming neurotic because they were capable of envisioning several outcomes, good and bad, for any given situation. I don’t know if what he said ha

IN SEARCH OF JEEVES The November 2011 edition of “Town & Country” had an article by writer Jonathan Reynolds that recounts his abridged training at butler’s school – an institution which began in New York when a wealthy woman woke up in her mansion one morning and

HE LEFT US TOO SOON TO WEAR THE BOTTOMS OF HIS TROUSERS ROLLED    — in memory of Christopher Hitchens The January edition of “Vanity Fair” contains “The Trial of the Will” which is probably the last essay Christopher Hitchens wrote before he died. In it, he reject

A TASTE OF “GOTHIC SPRING” I enter a new year with high hopes for my third novel, soon to be published… and a fourth standing in the wings. This also seems like a good time to show off the revised cover for my second novel, “Gothic Spring.” I believe it m

AS WE PREPARE TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAY I’VE DECIDED TO SHARE A FRAGMENT FROM A MEMOIR OF MY TRAVELS IN THE 1960s ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT WITH MY FRIEND NOREEN, A TEACHER I MET IN ENGLAND A YEAR EARLIER.  IT WAS A MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS SPENT IN UGANDA AND I SHARE IT BELOW AS MY GIFT TO Y

THE SEASON OF MIRACLES In Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” there is a song which begins:           “Tell me where is fancy bread,           Or in the heart or in the head?           How begot, or nour-ish-ed.           Reply. Reply.” Fan

There’s been enough interest in “Heart Land” that I’ve attached a chapter to my blog site for folks to read. Click here. I’ve created a special place for easy access. The entire book is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble or on order through independent bo

THE HEART THAT ANSWERS MUST BE TOUGH Guilt is a poor motivator when it comes to charitable giving. I learned that lesson in 1962 when I was in my 20s, a passenger on the Blue Train, traveling from Cape Town to today’s Zimbabwe. The engine chugged across the dessert for several h

I’M A FEMINIST AND I BET YOU ARE, TOO A former student who reads my blogs remarked, recently, that some of my essays surprised him. He hadn’t realized I was “a bit of a feminist.” His remark proves I never brought politics into the classroom; but feminist I am, if the word is

STEVE JOBS AND I AND ONE IMPORTANT DEGREE OF SEPARATION Reed College, where I earned my undergraduate and one graduate degree, celebrated its 100 year anniversary this year. Reedies form a tight little community wherever they are in the world, believing their educational experience to