‘I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement of things.’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘My mind is so cramped that I hardly know it; my tongue is so tied that I cannot tell it; but I will try to describe it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of Yin…
Christmas is canceled in Bethlehem. Palestinian Christian leaders plan to forgo celebrations in solidarity with Gaza, The Washington Post reports. While reading my email bulletin from the New York Times a few minutes ago, this story prompted a pause. Much by the light of decency ought come to a halt while there is egregious…
December is upon us. Very soon, all will be involved in a schedule of holiday festivities. The merriment begins the day after Thanksgiving. On Sunday Batavia hosted our tree-lighting ceremony, with a band playing holiday tunes, our Mayor recognizing the high school coaching staff and achievement of the football team, then Santa arrived, transported…
I am reading an article from Foreign Affairs sent to me by a friend: If Mao Had Come to Washington by Barbara W. Tuchman. In 1945 Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai requested a meeting with President Roosevelt, in hopes of convincing him that the Communists were a worthy ally, and that the Communist Party…
It is Sunday and there’s snow outside. The first snow of the season is falling, just enough to make driving hazardous. Pay no attention to that slush slicked intersection and you are courting an expensive, inconvenient surprise that possibly will involve another of your townspeople. There is no other place that I’d rather be…
Zhuang Zhou was wandering in the park at Diaoling when he saw a peculiar kind of magpie that came flying along from the south. It had a wingspread of seven feet, and its eyes were a good inch in diameter. It brushed against Zhuang Zhou’s forehead and then settled down in a grove of…
Every single one of ushas to be a hero at some time in our lives. Every babyforced through the narrow passage of the birth canal,which is not unlikethe labyrinthine tunnels at Lascaux,has to leave the safety of the womb,and face the trauma of entryinto a terrifyingly unfamiliar world. Every motherwho gives birth, who risks…
This fierce disco number, written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert captured my imagination. I have listened to radio play of the song too many times to count. Thelma Houston’s opening voice run washed over me like the movement of a great tide. Is not our fundamental longing that of loving and…
Monday is gray outside with cloud cover. The light is muted, the leaves of Fall are almost all descended from branches. This is the week of Thanksgiving. Proclaimed as a national holiday by President Lincoln on October 3, 1863 in a context of the Civil War, the day was a bid for unity, and…
In the beginning Man created God; and in the image of Man created he him. 2 And Man gave unto God a multitude of names, that he might be Lord of all the earth when it was suited to Man 3 And on the seven millionth day Man rested and did lean heavily on…
