At the retirement center, a woman approached me to compliment a  blog I had written.  My reply was to shrug and say the words hadn’t amounted to much.   Later, I recanted, realizing my false humility had made light of her opinion. To be honest, I’d worked hard on that blog. Wh

There are two occasions when a person ought to reflect upon the words of John F. Kennedy’s: Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. The first is during a time of war when citizens are asked to defend their nation.  The second occurs in a perio

There’s a university professor in Canada who is teaching an introductory journalism course, unique because it focuses on Donald Trump’s ability to keep the media and everyone else off-balance.  (“From Tocqueville to Trump,” by Joel Stein, Vanity Fair, Feb. 2019, pgs. 36-37.)�

I took up fencing as my sport in college.  Over time I learned to be quick, meaning my movements were subtle enough to fool my opponent.  While I performed well with fencers who were at or above my skill level, I fared miserably among those of few skills, those who imaged a sword wa

In October 1965, Lyndon Johnson, 36th President of the United States, held a press conference on the White House lawn to assure the public he was fully recovered from gall bladder surgery. I was glad to hear it, but watched, stupefied, as he lifted his shirt to show his scar to the me

When I was 10, I found a land application for 1 square inch of the moon in my Cheerios cereal box.  The time was the 1940s, long before John F. Kennedy had a gleam in his eyes to send Neil Armstrong into the stratosphere. As I was fascinated with astronomy, I jumped  at the chance t