Subways: a token
I’m in New York City for the weekend, the town where I was born and raised but don’t visit all that much any more. It seems to me there are more people here than ever. Whether that’s true or just … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Getting philosophical: life, love, the universe
Airport security: no nunchuks, no gellin’
Yes, it’s official: now you can bring your beyond-the-checkpoint-purchased beverages on board the plane. What’s more, you can bring little bottles of hair gel and face cream and all that good stuff, as long as they’re small enough to fit … Continue reading →
Going gentle into that good night
The memorial service for the father of a good friend of mine was held at the retirement community where he and his wife had lived for the last couple of years. The place is one of those spectacularly lovely and … Continue reading →
Looking at 9/11, half a decade later
Does it seem as though five years have passed since that dreadful day of the stunningly blue sky, the orange flames, the plumes of grey-black smoke? In some ways it seems a lifetime; one looks back at before-9/11 and thinks … Continue reading →
Idle idyll on the asphalt
Two days ago I got a flat tire. I was in a hurry, as usual, racing to meet a friend for dinner, and as I pulled out of my driveway I immediately heard the sickening “flub” and felt that pulling … Continue reading →
Understanding the 30s: a new Serenity Prayer
Victor Davis Hanson has written a compelling piece on the current moral malaise in the West and its pernicious effects. It’s a topic many of us have been hammering home lately, although Hanson–as usual–says it especially well. Hanson makes a … Continue reading →
The dump and the lost and the found
Yesterday I went to the town dump. I live in a town where–despite fairly hefty property taxes–we don’t have garbage collection. I’m not sure why, but my guess is that there’s some sort of ethos here that garbage isn’t esthetically … Continue reading →
Fourth of July weekend: assimilation at the park
I’ve written before (here and here) about the park near my house, where I so often walk. Fourth of July weekend is a big holiday there, especially when the weather is lovely, as it has been this year (and, after … Continue reading →
The theme and variations vs. the symphony: on love
I try to do about three miles of brisk walking every day for exercise. On rainy or snowy days, I’m off to the gym and its treadmill, which feels like–well, like being on a treadmill. But on beautiful days or … Continue reading →
Revolutions devouring their own
In the Atlantic article I discussed yesterday, a name on the first page caught my eye: Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, the Iranian foreign minister at the time of the hostage crisis. Suddenly, although I hadn’t thought of him in decades, the memory … Continue reading →
Question authority: Part I
[This is the first installment of a two-, three-, or possibly even four-part series. I plan to publish the posts in the series on consecutive days.] The story of the CIA detention centers leak raises issues far bigger than the … Continue reading →
The perfect war, the perfect peace
Dr. Sanity has written here about our current desire for a perfect, error-free war. No, not our desire; our demand. It often does seem as though the prosecution of this war is being held to an impossible standard, quite unlike … Continue reading →