Recently, newscasters were making light of Donald Trump’s self-congratulatory response to a dementia test he took, mistaking it for one that measured I. Q.  Despite his confusion, I’m happy for him, and for the nation, that he passed. His niece, a clinical psychologist, has alrea

Each morning, my hand mirror gives me two versions of myself. On one side, I get an enlarged view. On the other, I see myself as others do. At my age, neither offers a flattering option. Frankly, there are days when I welcome the Covid-19 edict to wear a protective mask. Not only is c

When Raphael Bostic became the first African American Fed president in the 106-year history of the central bank, he noted that since ours is a capitalistic democracy,  policymakers should create more economic opportunities for minorities and the poor. (“The Americans Left out of th

Not long ago, I wrote a blog on the transgender issue.  The argument, I hoped, was both reasoned and well documented. Nonetheless, I expected push back.  To my surprise, the response was muted. One reader did object to my remarks. Another noted I had gone out on a limb but didn’t

I never cried for my mother when she died, nor am I inclined to do so now, three months later.  At first, I thought my behavior peculiar.  A counselor assured me it wasn’t. “Some people need to hold on to their grief.  You’ll cry when you’re ready.” As the weeks pass,  I

I’m thinking today about the ways Covid-19 has rendered our society dysfunctional. We seem to blame the virus for much of what’s happened of late.  For example, I scheduled a  phone conference at 10 a.m. last Friday with one of my computer gurus. We had planned to do a trial run

When I was in college in the 1950s, my philosophy professor spent his summers at White Sands, New Mexico among a coven of NSA scientists.  When I asked how much he knew about physics, he laughed and said,  “Almost nothing.” He went on to explain his job at NSA was to visit the l

Sorry, I have no positive news about my search for an agent.  I share this paucity of information to alert my fellow writers that getting New York’s attention isn’t a cakewalk.  It’s harder than writing a book. Much harder. And there’s competition. Yes, J. K. Rowling won the

While browsing through the internet the other day, I learned about an exciting new discovery in quantum physics.  Scientists have learned that some quantum particles adhere to one another, not by electromagnetism, as we supposed, but by something called the strong force. I will ventu

While the country is tearing itself apart with protests like CHOP, a call for racial justice, and outrage over laws requiring face masks, I mark the passing of three writers who, through their publications managed to change the world and did so without provoking violence:  Kenneth Le