CURIOUS ABOUT VOLDEMORT II I take my 94 year-old mother to lunch once a week. She likes to mix with people of different ages. The local Mall is a good place for that so we sometimes stop for a hot fudge sundae and to do a little people watching. Last week she was swirling her chocolat

LIFE AS A VOYEUR I saw a photograph the other day of Grace Kelly when she was attending a premier of “Rear Window,” the Alfred Hitchcock film (1954) in which she co-starred with James Stewart. Anyone who has yet to see the film should remedy the omission as soon as possibl

AN OLD DOG HOWLS It’s almost a month away, but I can feel autumn in the air. Mostly the reminder comes in the form of magazines chock full of information about sending youngsters back to school. Advertisers are busy too. I guess they’re hoping for an uptick in sales as parents thi

A TEACHER CALLED HUMOR I love James Thurber. “My Life and Hard Times” is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. In fact, Heart Land is set in Ohio as a subtle tribute to the author.  I’ve read Thurber’s book several times and still can’t get through the pages w

ALLEGORIES OF GOOD AND EVIL A few years ago, I wrote an allegory. I don’t mean to appear immodest, but it’s one of the most satisfying pieces of writing I’ve have ever done. Unfortunately, I found no market for it. Allegory, a moral tale told with symbols, has gone out of style.

THE ONLY SECURITY OF ALL IS A FREE PRESS – Thomas Jefferson Last Friday, I received an early phone call from a former student I taught while I lived in what’s now called Zimbabwe. Today she’s 62 years-old and runs a travel agency out of South Africa. She’d like to sell the

WRITERS OF MISINFORMATION For the most part, advertising is misinformation I don’t need, though occasionally, it has its amusement value. Ellen DeGeneres, actress and TV talk show host, has recently become the advertising face for Cover Girl cosmetics. She’s part of a campaign for

THE FOUNTAIN PEN IS AS MIGHTY AS THE COMPUTER When I was in elementary school and brought homework with me on weekend visits with my father, my stepmother knew how to coax me into doing it. She was raised in Wisconsin, the oldest daughter of thirteen children and knew plenty about rai

Hi Panchomanyeti, Just found your reblog to me on a blog that belongs to Exogenesis.  I’m not clear how all this works. Mostly I type and my PR guy does the set up.  I’ll ask him to explain why your remarks to me came via Exogenesis or maybe Exogenesis is another site o

THE SOUND OF SILENCE Wise men have written that if one attains enlightenment, the need for words falls away. What exists is perfect silence.  I don’t know if the statement is true and I do know my level is enlightenment is about the thickness of a sheet of paper, but as I grow olde