July 2011
24 posts
July 1, 2011
“I HEAR AMERICA SINGING”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Out of this astounding thought a nation was born — the idea that the greatest good for the whole is the result of respecting the rights of the individual. I have touched upon this topic before, that delicate balance between who we are as individuals and who we are as citizens (Blog...
June 2011
22 posts
June 30, 2011
ELECTED OR ANNOINTED?
Joseph E. Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001 and has published many books on the subject, including his latest in 2010, “Freefall: America, and the Sinking of the World Economy.” His recent essay appeared in the May edition of “Vanity Fair” where he observes that the richest Americans, the top 1%, control the bulk of the nation’s...
June 29, 2011
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Ray Bradbury’s novel of over 40 years ago, “Fahrenheit 451,” has turned out to contain more fact than fiction. The story is about a fire fighter whose job is to burn books that are banned by a hedonistic society — a society that considers thought to be dangerous. Guy Montag, the central character, lives in a world where self-control is abandoned and...
June 28, 2011
SMALL MIRACLES THAT AREN’T SO SMALL
Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” is among the more famous novels about a child who suffers abuse. In the real world, too many of these stories are truth. But even well-intended parents face challenges as they raise a family. In fact, it’s always seemed to me that having a child requires a good deal of courage. Like the beds in Goldilocks, sometimes it’s...
June 27, 2011
WE GET MORE THAN ONE BITE OF THE APPLE
In his memoir, “Idea Man,” Paul Allen, who collaborated with Bill Gates to create Microsoft, recalls their early years together in high school. Allen was a couple of grades ahead of Gates, but they shared an interest in writing programs for machines that were little more than desk top calculators. Both teenagers were bright and stood out...
June 24, 2011
SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH
This may sound strange coming for a woman approaching 75, but every morning I awake and think how best to live my life. I’ve been lucky in my experiences thus far. My work has been varied and I’ve enjoyed general good health — though there have been moments when I was forced to stare death in the eye. Yet, in the main, I am content and look to the future rather than to the...
June 23, 2011
THE FAMILY OF MAN
In 1955 Edward Steichen was curator for a collection of photographs from around the world that were to be exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. The purpose was to celebrate the best examples of this creative medium. What it achieved was far more. Steichen gave to the public a distillation of the human experience apart from notions of time and international borders. The...
June 22, 2011
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME
Washington Irving is credited with authoring the classic tale, “Rip Van Winkle,” the story of a man who escapes unpleasant circumstances by sleeping through them. Similar stories can be found in various cultures from ancient Greece and China to later tales found in Germany and Ireland. Van Winkle, a peaceful man, escapes his wife’s nagging by walking deep into the forest...
June 21, 2011
WHERE ARE THE MEN?
Many books have been written about social injustice. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” comes to mind in the struggle against slavery. Alan Paton’s, “Cry the Beloved Country” documents similar conditions for the blacks living under apartheid in South Africa. But in the case of women’s rights in the Middle East no novel has emerged that...
June 20, 2011
OUT OF AFRICA AND IN INTO ONESELF
I’ve recently finished reading Alexander McCall Smith’s eleventh book in “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series and was stunned to read his description of the Africa veldt. As his central character steps out of her van to look into the emptiness around her, she has the following reaction:
“Mma Ramotswe shivered: to stand...
June 17, 2011
THE SNAKE IN THE GARDEN
Christopher Hitchens is an English author and journalist whose work spans 40-years. Currently he’s put the promotion of his memoir, “Hitch-22,” on hold as he struggles with a virulent form of esophageal cancer. In the June edition of “Vanity Fair” his article, “Unspoken Truths” describes his struggles against the disease and how he feels about...
June 16, 2011
THE POETRY OF LIFE
I rose early this morning to take my park walk, wanting to be home in time to meet with my gardener. At that hour, I had the place to myself and sauntered along, admiring the rain that had begun to fall and the pearls it deposited on the dusty leaves of the Rhododendrons. I made no effort to raise the hood of my parka. The drops tapping on my cheeks dried the moment I became...
June 15, 2011
THE ENEMY WITHIN
I read a curious article in the Yahoo news (5/24/11) recently about a Canadian couple who was refusing to divulge the sex of their 4 month old child, hoping to allow the infant to develop without suffering a gender bias. Not long after, I came across a report that said 12 million girl fetuses had been aborted in India over the last thirty years. Largely the would-be offspring...
June 14, 2011
SCRAPS OF LIFE ON A TELEPHONE POLL
The telephone poles on my way to the park are often plastered with posters. At the busy intersections most of them advertise entertainment events but as I move deeper into the neighborhood, the messages are of a personal note. A poster is a literary form where communication must be simple and direct, so I stop to read them, often finding messages that tell...
June 13, 2011
A READING STATE OF MIND
Authors write books in a mood and about moods. I suppose that’s why I have several tomes lined up beside my armchair with bookmarks sticking out of them. Some take me into realms of thought; others are an opportunity to kick back and allow myself to be taken to a special place where I can escape.
I bought Carola Dunn’s latest mystery several weeks ago but have yet...
June 10, 2011
THE TWO SIDES OF METAMORPHOSIS
Recently, I met a group of friends for lunch. The day was warm and pleasant and there was much friendly chatter at the table for we hadn’t seen one another in some time. It felt good to be in their midst. They were contemporaries who’d worked in county government when I was a commissioner. Each listened with interest as I recounted my visit to the agency after...
June 9, 2011
THOUGHTS ABOUT A STORY BOOK QUESTION
The Caterpillar in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” pauses from his high perch to ask the title character, “Who are you?” The question seems simple enough but when the answer doesn’t satisfy, the child is subjected to a lecture.
Like Alice many of us are daunted by the question, “Who are you?” We tend to take the easy way out and identify...
June 8, 2011
HOW TO AVOID ARGUMENTS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
We all know that reasonable minds can differ in spite of the facts. Now science is beginning to understand why. In a recent article that appeared in the May 20 edition of “This Week,” Chris Mooney, a science writer, discusses the theory of motivated reasoning. According to this new notion, the mind applies the same fight-or-flight ...
June 7, 2011
LIVING IN FEAR OF THINGS THAT GO BUMP, DAY OR NIGHT
“Waiting to Exhale,” a novel by Terry McMillan, is the story of four women who are “holding their breaths” until they find men to whom they can commit their lives (Wikipedia). I’ve never read the book nor have I seen the film which was a box office success, but the title has always captured my imagination. I see it as a perfect...
June 6, 2011
THOUGHTS ON THE APPROACH OF MY 75TH BIRTHDAY
What makes me feel old is when:
I see an ad for a Drink Milk campaign and I can’t identify the celebrity with the white mustache;
I read Michael Fox has turned 50 and “Back to the Future” is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
I discover hula hoops are making a comeback;
(courtesy: Seattle Dept of Transportation)
My hairdresser admits she’s...
June 3, 2011
POWER IN CREATIVITY
Half way through my reading of Eric Hoffer’s True Believer, I was stunned to come upon the following:
“The most incurably frustrated – and therefore, the most vehement – among the permanent misfits are those with an unfulfilled craving for creative work… they are likely to become the most violent extremists in the service of their holy...
June 2, 2011
THE JOY OF CONTRAST
The weather may still have occasional gray days but nature is luxuriant in its spring colors. By now the pines whose green boughs have withstood winter’s tempest are joined by the deciduous trees, their pastel greens standing in stark contrast to the conifers.
As I walk home thinking about these contrasts, I am reminded of a magazine article I’d read earlier about the...
