Auburn, AL September 15, 2022 Mark Twain said that while history doesn’t repeat, it often rhymes. Today the stanza and meter brought back memories. My younger son is a senior in high school. He’s taken his tests, compiled his grades, and is applying to college. Our elder son went thru the same process three years […]
Atlanta, GA September 9, 2022 I’ve had opportunities to encounter a lot of people. We lost one of them last week with the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. Another departed yesterday, when Queen Elizabeth II gave up the ghost. I crossed paths with Gorbachev in 1995, while I was working as a civil engineer for the […]
Atlanta, GA August 29, 2022 Rahm Emmanuel famously advised governments to “never let a serious crisis go to waste.” He needn’t have worried. They rarely do, even if they create the “crisis” to take the advantage. Which they usually do. It’s one of the few things the State does well. And it’s gotten better at […]
Highlands, NC July 28, 2022 When we walked into the church, the congregation was praying the Rosary. That’s always a good sign. Unfortunately, it’s also a rare one. The usual ambience before a Novus Ordo Mass is a buzz of casual conversation, like a crowd gathering for a high school play. Gone from most parishes […]
Atlanta, GA July 21, 2022 Before it’s leaders made it an uninhabitable sh*thole, San Francisco was one of the greatest cities in the world. I loved the City, absorbed its history, and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I considered it my “adopted home town”. It was beautiful. And it still is. From afar. Like a […]
Jekyll Island, GA May 14, 2022 In 1804, on the right bank of the Hudson in Weehauken, New Jersey, a duel took place. The sitting Vice President of the United States shot and killed the first Secretary of the Treasury. Aside from becoming increasingly uncouth, dueling was illegal in New Jersey. So with Alexander Hamilton […]
Jekyll Island, GA May 14, 2022 On Sapelo Island, I had to constantly remind myself where we were. It felt more like a foreign country than a secluded island in my own state. And, in some sense, it is. Its dedicated citizens have a unique culture and a proud history that is being pressed to […]
Jekyll Island, GA May 13, 2022 In February of 1733, the frigate Anne approached the open mouth of the Savannah River. One hundred and fourteen passengers disembarked, and commenced a colony. Within three decades, more nefarious ships would fill that harbor. For a couple days, we’re exploring a community that descends from their “cargo.” The original charter […]
Atlanta, GA May 10, 2022 For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t believe in God, no explanation is possible. – From The Song of Bernadette Jefferson speculated that were we to ask any well-traveled person in which country he’d prefer to live, he’d likely say his own…where he’d […]
Atlanta, GA April 17, 2022 Last week was Masters’ week, which in north Georgia is usually delightful. Until yesterday, when rain rolled in, this year was no exception: clear, sunny afternoons book-ended by chilly mornings and cool nights. The birds are chirping, the azaleas flower, and Atlanta’s arboreal canopy is in seasonal blossom. Bees are […]