Perhaps, my mother’s passing colors my reaction to the current demonstrations for racial and economic equality.  I continue to see the need for change, but when Death takes the center stage, it presents a standard that when measured against the demonstrations makes the latter seem

Where it has been imposed, the Covid-19 lockdown begins to seem endless, particularly because the number of victims continues to rise despite the precaution. In some states, sheer economic exhaustion has emboldened a few businesses to open. But, if the spike continues to rise, these s

When I was a child, before television, I looked forward to attending Sunday matinees with my mother. If a film was popular and held over for a second week, waiting the extra time for a new title to appear on the billboard felt like a disaster. Forever Amber was held over, I recall, an

In the midst of the George Floyd tragedy and the protests that have followed, this might not be the time for a calm debate on how to reform the justice system in this country. Nonetheless, cries to dismantle our police forces are troubling and need to be addressed.   I agree change i

While my mother’s death feels like blisters under my skin; while there are riots in the streets– a reaction to police brutality; and while the pandemic continues to rage, killing over 100,000 people in the United States, I’ve spent my evenings without the news and chosen to

My mom’s death was a long goodbye. I’d anticipated her passing since she’d reached her late 70’s, after her bout with breast cancer and her heart attack. But she surprised me, as she sometimes did. She died at 104 in a care facility where she’d resided for 16 years. Througho

Like pandemics of the past, Covid-19 will probably leave lasting social change in its wake.  A person doesn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict that contagions usually alter the course of human life. The Black Plague broke the back of the feudal system, for example. (“How Pandemi

The current Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories concerning why it happened. Though we know little about the virus as yet, these theories have flourished like toadstools after a sodden rain. Thanks to the internet, they have spread to remote places like Gym

Women’s contributions to history and in particular to religious history are almost invisible compared to the recording of masculine exploits. What made Dan Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code so scandalous was that he relied upon a theory which posited that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lo

Is the Covid-19 virus masculine or feminine?  That’s a conundrum the Académie Française settled recently. The decision fell to the feminine, “la.” How they drew this conclusion would be an interesting discussion to hear. No matter. The decision is final.  The pandemic, as I�