As soon as it looked as if the coronavirus had started to loosen its grip on the nation, a lot of  people began to think travel—going places, shedding the isolation. Three months into 2021, the Wall Street Journal asked, “Is Travel Coming Back?” The evidence pointed toward an answer in the affirmative. Among other favorable signs, Delta saw bookings begin to pick up in late February, and airline executives “are optimistic that demand will rebound.” By land, air, or sea, travel is a desirable activity for millions, providing life-changing experiences. People are able  to step out of their cveryday lives and see the world from a new perspective,  explore a…

  Historical events usually generate  unique responses, oftentimes  providing a useful solution, designed to fill a need. The lingering COVID-19 pandemic has  given us such a solution: curbside service delivery.  Perhaps, like many others all over the country,  you  showed up at your neighborhood supermarket  one day to find signs saying “Pickup Here.”  At first the operation may have looked a little clumsy–like trial-and-error–but now it has become the going thing, as  retail stores and grocery chains, even restaurants, have all  adopted the new sales strategy, created to fill a  perceived need.  One  outlet has put a  classy spin on its service by calling it  Curbside Concierge. Apparently, it’s possible…

For a few days in January, the nation got excited about something that had nothing to do with money, sports, fashion, or politics. People were talking about—of all things—a poem. And this made the hearts of English teachers glad. The inauguration of the new president on January 20 had a shining moment when the first Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, dazzled the inauguration attendees and TV viewers with her recitation of her original poem “The Hill We Climb.”  The spontaneous reaction was amazing.  Her dramatic presentation had a lot to do with the way the poem was received, to be sure. Robert Frost read “The Gift Outright” at John F.…

    The month of February is special, having been set aside with its own name for a special purpose.  It is Black History Month, designed “to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and the integral role they’ve played in the history of the United States.” That’s the purpose for the month, and seems sensible  and desirable enough. The commemoration was initiated by Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as Black History Week. In 1970 it was officially designated Black History Month. Some people question the need for  a whole month dedicated to celebrating Black achievers; however,  the month is not solely  for the benefit of Black Americans; it serves  the…

  The year 2020 took us up the rough side of the mountain. We traveled over difficult paths and were battered in the way.  The battering came from all directions, most notably from the coronavirus, but there were other stressors.  In my community many are still suffering from the devastation of what has come to be called the  Easter Sunday tornado. We are still sad for those who suffered extensive loss,  but we also celebrate  the ones who have found the courage to start over and are beginning to build again. The new year  presents us an opportunity for a new beginning, not for the purpose of forgetting that we…

We are  approaching the Christmas 2020 holidays with misgivings because much about it this year is so un-Christmassy. With the COVID-19 pandemic running wild in our midst, along with bruised feelings in the aftermath of our national election,  it certainly isn’t getting to feel a lot like Christmas.  Perhaps we can make things have a little more of the “joy to world” spirit by laying aside today’s constraints and looking back–getting a little nostalgic, going back to a time when there was no pandemic, no quarantine, no social distancing, and no political malice. I was revising the manuscript of my follow-up book  to Dark Days on the Fairest Isle a…

  Shibboleth. Is this one of your favorite words? Just kidding.  Very likely you’ve never used it. But it’s a real word,  one that has relevance for these times. In the Hebrew, the word shibboleth  means “ear of grain,” but today, according to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary,   it is  “a usage  or custom regarded as distinguishing  one group from another.” It is “a word or saying used by  adherents of a party or sect or belief group.”  The word itself is used in the Bible in a dramatic encounter between two tribes–the Gileadites and the Ephraimites.  You can read the story in Judges 12:1-15.  The two tribes went to war,…

  From the startling images  of uncontrollable flames we’ve been seeing every evening on television, along with the hourly reports on our radios, it seems that the whole world is on fire.  In the U.S.,  California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State are burning. This devastating situation was preceded last year by the searing scenes in Australia and was joined recently by Syria,  a place not usually associated with wild fires. In California  3 million acres were ravaged in one week, and more than 5 thousand square miles have burned so far this year. Our hearts go out to our fellow dwellers on this fragile planet as the walls of flame…

  Most major global events leave their mark for good or ill.  I became keenly aware of this fact recently  when I re-read “70 Years Later: How World War II Changed America,” by Rick Hampson. The many changes  the war made were transformative. Living in a time of a crucial global event, we too  can  expect to see some important changes. During the war, two young men in San Bernadino, California, seeing a chance to meet a need to provide working families with “cheap meals served fast,”  opened a drive-in restaurant. They were the McDonald brothers, and their business grew and prospered.  Today the “golden arches” are everywhere, and fast-food…

  Memorial services are an integral part of our culture. During these sometimes elaborate exercises, the mourners sit and listen to tributes that seem sincerely meant. Some are authentic enough, but a lot of times much of what is said seems close to  make-believe. Listening to these  oftentimes lengthy panegyrics, one wonders who the person delivering the tribute is talking about, because the portrait is so one-sided, painting an exaggerated portrait of the dear departed. Something like this must have happened with the selection of many of the memorials that  have dotted our national landscape. Those who chose them looked upon the subjects through biased eyes, exaggerating their visible deeds,…