Every morning, I check my bed and body for ticks. Read More

TV is enjoyable when it provides for personable entertainment, reflection. and curiosity. Not when it stirs up meaningless fantasy. and fears. Read More

I confess:  I am not much into mending fences--either making them or breaking them or fixing them. Read More

World War II murders and casualties overshadowed my childhood. Read More

In the 1950s high school swimming was neither competitive nor popular.  For the macho man, the game was gymnastics on the bars, football on the field, and baseball on the diamonds.  For women, it was cheerleading and theater. We did not have fancy or colorful uniforms. Swimmers had a minimal audience. Our uniforms scantily revealed… Read More

The silent sentry deceptively contrasts against the cold winter sky. A Minnesota winter is both a threat and a reward.  “The beast is loose and kills tonight…” Two popular songs portray winter with contrary emotions. The Russian band, Krokus, leads into terror: Russian winter, broken hearts/Cold winds in the dark/The beast is loose and kills… Read More

In the summer of 1978, I took a group of students to Taiwan for a work-study trip.  Among them was an older female ROTC grad with the officer’s rank of Second Lieutenant.  With me posing as her husband, we entered the American Military”s Officers Club. A hub for the social and political elite, its members… Read More

In 1972 my California driver’s license expired after decades of coverage. I had moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to prepare my Ph.D. thesis for publication. I needed to renew my license to commute to the library, shop in the markets, and tour Detroit.  Just in the nick of time before the… Read More

One of the most remarkable discoveries of my dive into family history is the connection between my mother and a close friend with a secret (from me) history. Read More

Orwell’s dramatic book of the future is truly a tragic daydream. My future derives from a similar journey, not a frightful one. It all began with my birth. My mother, Rose, was disappointed that she birthed a male child—as documented by my birth certificate. My first photograph showed me as a three-year-old child in the… Read More