RANDOM THOUGHTS ON HUMOR Few would disagree with the argument that humor largely depends upon one’s culture. First there is the idiom of language. I watched a British TV comedy recently and heard the audience roar with laughter over a word that had no meaning to me. One had to know

January 5, 2011: Yesterday I spoke of the power of Nature to lift us above ourselves. As it’s still the first few days of the New Year I want to share this video clip a friend sent. It does more than I can say to remind us of the beauty of this planet, a gift we must all work ha

Here’s Susan Boyle’s video of Lou Reed’s well known “Perfect Day.” You can decide. (Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

THE ART OF THE CRITIQUE I’ve just finished reading a book called “Disgrace” by Nobel Prize winner, J. M. Coetzee, an Australian. The cover shows a scene from a film based on the novel which stars John Malkovich. Curious that I’d never heard of the movie, I looked it up

PAYING IT FORWARD As the first work day of the New Year begins, it’s good to think about all we’ve done with our lives so far. One of my women’s magazines listed some interesting statistics about how we’ve been operating as a nation. The case for our random acts of kindness lo

THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” closes with the lines:       “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.       But I have promises to keep,       And miles to go before I sleep,       And miles to go bef

Hi Mindy, Welcome aboard.  You’re my first guest from Twitter.  Great what you’re doing for your friend. Caroline

HISTORY, ONE LETTER AT A TIME I wrote a letter today to a friend in his 80s.After another debilitating stroke (Blog: 9/25/10) he’s been moved to a nursing home. At such times, only a letter will do to keep in touch because patients in nursing homes may not be well enough to answer a

PROMISES NOT KEPT I’m reading another of the books my friend gave me from her class (Blog 12/27/2010). This one’s called “An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Grappah. It recently won the London Guardian’s First Book Award. I didn’t choose it because it had won an awar

SEPTEMBER’S SONG December is the month for new calendars. I get free ones in the mail from a few of the charities I support. They usually come with a return envelope in case I want to make one last contribution before the tax year ends. I consider calendars an art form. I have a fri