It was lonely.  I suppose it was just adolescent agonizing over the search for independence and existential meaning, while simultaneously longing for acceptance and inclusion from kids my age. You know, the usual. Read More

A litter of kittens frolicking in the California sun, named by my teenaged aunt Susan:  Peanuts, Schroeder, Linus and Charley Brown. Left behind when his family moved, we inherited the tawny pai dog.  Feral and battle-scarred, a forever stray who one day vanished.  Bishkar. Gray and white cat, clawing, meowing, rubbing, always knowing how to… Read More

With apologies to Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist. Read More

Then, in the fall of 1963, an amazing thing happened.  The State Department, through the United States Information Service (USIS), sponsored a goodwill tour of American jazz musicians.  None other than the Duke Ellington Band—yes, that one!--made an astoundingly extensive tour that, according to google, went from New York to Damascus, Amman, Jerusalem, Beirut, Kabul, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, Colombo, Kandy, Dacca, Lahore, Karachi, Teheran, Isfahan, Abadan, Baghdad, Beirut and Ankara.  You may have noticed Dacca in that list. Read More

I think it was my fourteenth birthday when my father bought me a transistor radio.  They were a wonder.  Mine was small enough to hold in a hand, with a little leatherette case and ear bud, from Japan. Read More

In the end, she decided she didn’t want to break up the family, and returned, telling my father never to mention the idea of doing a PhD to her, EVER!  It was too late.  That was that. Read More

In 1957,  travel overseas meant lots of shots for our whole family—Mom. Dad, and three children.  I was the middle child, age 6.   We had to go to a special clinic in downtown Lansing, and we children were promised we would be taken out to dinner if we “behaved”.  This would be a big deal… Read More

We had no details. Television? None in the house.  Radio?  I can’t recall.  And really, why should it be covered 24/7 in Botswana?  When you read about a disaster on the other side of the world, how many details do you hear?   Internet?  Smartphone? This was 1989.  Read More

In the darkness, find light Sun shines, laughter peals Watch again and again Read More

The Goops, they lick their fingers, And the Goops, they lick their knives; They spill their broth on the tablecloth, Oh, they lead disgusting lives! Read More