News & Articles
Canaries in the Coal Mine
Is there a special love that grandparents have for grandchildren? I think most grandparents would say yes. The fact that there is a generation between my two grandchildren and me doesn’t mean that I love them less than I love their parents. I believe it does mean that I love my grandchildren differently from how…
Facing The New Year
How do we approach this new year of 2026? Yes, we had our traditional celebrations to ring in the new year, but how many of us shuddered inwardly when we thought of all that could happen in 2026? China is poised to attack Taiwan. Europe is seriously preparing for war with Russia. Iran is in…
Missing Cronkite
Readers of my generation will have no trouble remembering Walter Cronkite. He was a plain-looking, partially bald “newsman” unlike the Hollywood-attractive news presenters found today on every channel. Cronkite rarely smiled, and I can’t remember him ever delivering one of the feel-good stories that are woven into newscasts today to balance the darker news stories.…
There Were Shepherds
As I was thinking of all the topics worth writing about this week, one global, national, and personal concern after another came to mind. In a few moments, I had a long list of issues to ponder, but then I asked myself if readers deserved a break this week from more worries. I’m sure the…
The Joy of the Daily Newspaper
If our recent snowfalls had come at the end of March or the beginning of April, we probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the unusual weather of last weekend. But several inches of snow this close to the Holidays brings back snow memories for those of us who are older. I remember trudging through knee-high snow when,…
Seeing and Then Really Seeing
One of the largest and greatest art museums in the world is the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. When my wife and I used to take students to Italy during the January term, we would always include a guided tour of the Uffizi. There are literally hundreds of masterpieces on view which celebrate the artistic…