I’m neither a history scholar nor a psychiatrist, but I’ve always felt discrimination has more to do with being either the top or underdog in society rather than about race or politics or religion.  Something in human nature abhors equality.  Slavery, the vilest f

I’m probably not alone in feeling straight-jacketed by Covid-19. The retirement center I call home has imposed so many restrictions, it feels difficult to breathe.  If I want coffee, I must order 15 minutes in advance. If I choose to walk in the garden, that must be prearranged, al

On the PBS program, Nature, there’s a 5-second introduction that never fails to delight me.  A baby Lemur sits pressed against its mother as the pair sit on a tree branch that overlooks an expanse of jungle.  Suddenly, the baby decides to explore the far end of the limb but manage

I took a late afternoon walk, recently. Already, the sun was bending to the west, shortening and intensifying its rays.  Ahead were residential streets lined with trees and well-tended gardens. Knowing I’d be cool, I decided not to turn back for bottled water.  Instead, I headed f

I’m a prisoner of Covid-19.  Are you a prisoner, too?  Oregon, my home state, is doing a miserable job of keeping the number of viral infections down.  Maybe your state is the same. In any case, for the past few months, we Oregonians have been required to wear masks in public and

One of the most famous galleries in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, attracts visitors to its rooms as much to see the empty frames hanging on its walls as the actual collection.  Those hollow squares provide silent testimony to the world’s most famous and costly art th

A month or two before Christmas last year, (2019) I walked through the local mall in search of children’s gifts for charity. About a third of the stores had gone out of business. Too many people were avoiding crowds and shopping on the internet. The two toy retailers that had existe

If my memoir ever finds an agent and is published, readers  who buy the book will journey back to the 1960s, joining my travel adventures throughout Europe and Africa.  I spent nearly 4 years wandering the planet and found the experience freeing.  Existing as a stranger in a strang

Predicting the future is difficult because it’s hard to assess how much “nostalgia” from the present or the past will be carried forward.  Poland, for example, is shaping its future by taking a giant leap backward.  Women’s rights recently took a hit when the country withdre

Aphorisms are pithy sayings that capture what’s common in human experience.  “All’s well that ends well,” came to mind the other day after a misadventure with my car title. I needed to release it to a friend but couldn’t find the document in any of the usual places. Confide