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,…

  Over the past few months, masks have assumed a prominent place in our lives. In some cases, they are “suggested”; in others they are “mandated.” And with  COVID-19 ravaging the country, we have been  given guidelines  on how to combat the virus: wash your hands, practice social distancing, and wear a mask. Some people quibble about the need for wearing a mask, seeing a sinister purpose behind the requirement, linking it to oppression or an assault on their freedom. But health care professionals know better;  they see the mask as a means of survival in the fight against a deadly pandemic disease.  Yet  some high profile individuals have consistently…

The one-word title for this month’s post may seem like a throw-back to my weekly vocabulary blogs, but we’re still working on doing monthly articles.  My word choice has relevance to our present COVID-19 pandemic experience. As with our earlier vocabulary posts, a definition is in order. Altruism is the belief or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.  The word was coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte, who used  ottruisme as the opposite for egoism. The Latin root  for altruism is alteri, which means “other people” or “somebody else.” “The world is a pest-house!” This  stark assessment of our planet was written in 1993 by …

  It’s springtime, and despite the COVID-19 virus hanging on in our midst, the welcome signs of the season  are all around us in the gorgeous azalea blooms, dogwoods, and fresh breezes. Another welcome part of springtime is the birds in their bright plumes.  Bird watching is enjoyable. I had a taste of it when I worked hard to fulfill a requirement  for one of my biology courses in college. Birds singing is even more enjoyable. I hear them in the woods behind my house. The notes are clear, repeated with the same rhythm as if they were reading from sheet music. It’s fun listening to hear if they miss…

  Greetings everyone! I hope that you are coping well during this difficult time for us,  as individuals as well as a nation. We must remain positive and believe that although it may seem that the sky is  falling, it really isn’t. It was put in place by a mighty hand, and He is still holding it up.  “Fear not” (Isaiah 41:10).   “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1). “Peace I leave with you” (John 14:27). Be encouraged. Stay strong. Recently, while  I was looking at some  designated national times for celebration, it seemed to me there’s  a day or a month or even a year for almost  everything—from…

  Whenever we have free time to let our mind wander, we contemplate a variety of ideas. but I venture to say that if you’re like me, cynicism is not one of the topics you think about during your mental meanderings.  I began thinking about it, however, after a satisfying talk with one of the readers of my book Dark Days on the Fairest Isle. She said some nice things about different aspects of the story, and in her  analysis made this comment about the character Derrick: “He is so cynical.” I was surprised; it was something I hadn’t thought about. Frankly, I liked writing about him and appreciated his…

  Most of us are still trying to get used to being in 2020.  Reacting at the beginning of the year, some people could be heard saying that it wasn’t too long ago that everyone was buzzing about Y2K and all the many calamities we were afraid would come upon the world.  But their focus soon shifted to talking about the new decade (which really isn’t new yet, with a year to go), and if we were asked to recall highlights from the previous decade, many of us would be stumped to point out any. Well, how about memorable highlights from last year?  Can you recall some of them? One …

  Once again we are on the cusp of a new year, which looms large and challenging, yet promising, as new years usually are.   This one, 2020,  will be a leap year like 2016, which gave us plenty to worry about. Drumbeats are already alerting us to what may be ahead. Most of us are familiar with the words “Ring out the old, ring in the new” from  Tennyson’s famous elegiac poem In Memoriam. We like to repeat those words perhaps because they give us a sense that it’s possible to make a clean break with the past  and start over anew. But there is more to a new year…