“Coming Home”–it was the title of a 1978 movie about returning Vietnam vets, starring (of all people, adding insult to injury) Jane Fonda. I saw it and don’t remember it very well, but I thought of it when I heard … Continue reading →
I wrote the following on Memorial Day, but I thought I’d post it again today, since it seems even more appropriate for Flag Day. Flag Day is one of those lost holidays. It was easy to ignore even when I … Continue reading →
I’ve gotten to the point that going to the doctor, any doctor, is something I hate to do. I never liked it, but now I simply detest it. After all, the best that can happen is that things have stayed … Continue reading →
Norm Geras tossed me the “10 things I’ve never done before” baton, and so I’ll catch. Norm has sometimes told me I should break down and write shorter posts (he knows I do have a very slight tendency to go … Continue reading →
(For earlier pieces in the series, see the right sidebar under “A mind is a difficult thing to change.”) Introduction No, this isn’t the long-promised Part 4C, the post in the “A mind is a difficult thing to change” series … Continue reading →
Even though I was a good student, economics was my nemesis. I passed it, but it was a slow slogging grind, and it didn’t quite stick. And, although I’ve made an effort to learn more about economics since then, every … Continue reading →
I’ve been visiting New York City, the place where I grew up. I decide to take a walk to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, never having been there before. When you approach the promenade you can’t really see what’s in … Continue reading →
[Previous posts in the series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Interlude Part 4A] There were two widely-circulated and iconographic photographs taken during the Vietnam War. If you were around then, I can almost guarantee that you saw them, and … Continue reading →
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Interlude) PREFACE Part 4 has been a long time coming. The article itself is long, too–so long that I finally decided it would be best to divide it into segments, so readers might have … Continue reading →
I heard it on my car radio this evening while I was driving. I don’t even know what they were saying about it–I just caught some fleeting mention of the name, and something about it being the last one in … Continue reading →
My 91-year old mother is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, formed in the crucible of the Great Depression and not to be swayed. Not that I’d want to sway her; it’s perfectly OK with me at this point. I’m just happy she’s … Continue reading →
A year or two ago, I went through a phase of energetic protest letter writing. I sent outraged (but always polite) missives to the NY Times, the New Yorker, and CNN, pointing out to them just where they might be … Continue reading →