Most people I know have either read or seen Gone with the Wind. One of the underlying themes of that story, alluded to in the title, is the disappearance of the Old South, its economy and way of life destroyed, and often erased, by the Civil War and Reconstruction. That terrible conflict freed the slaves,
READ MOREWhen I was 10, I had a 12-year-old sister, Denise, and two brothers. Lenny was 14 and Danny was 5. We boys slept in the same room in a small, single-story house in a modest, riverside neighborhood known as Pleasureland. The neighborhood’s name derived from a nearby park with two swimming pools and many picnic
READ MOREBecky Kraker suffered from depression most of her life, but a couple years ago got medication that helped. For 18 months she felt like she finally had her life together, especially since the dissipating depression dramatically strengthened her relationship with her son. Then she got the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, her mental and physical health went
READ MOREIn the last six months, five people I’ve approached about bringing the story of who they are and what they do to a wider public have turned down my request for an interview. A farming and homeschooling family out West, for example, would have made a wonderful article about work ethic, education, and values. In
READ MORESeptember has arrived and many children are back in public schools (though fewer than previous years). At a recent event, one parent joked to me we’re now officially in “vaccine season.” The comment made me laugh, but there’s at least a kernel of truth to it. It’s not unusual for states to require that children
READ MORESix months ago, the opening shots of the Russia-Ukraine conflict shook the world. Now, thousands of miles away from those of us in the United States, the two countries wage a vicious military, economic, and propaganda war over territories and populations which the region’s power players have contested for centuries. But that’s not the impression
READ MOREA Meridian, ID, resident recently called the police department to demand a cop hurry over and apprehend an illegal solicitor—someone who’d knocked on her door to peddle without a permit. As reported by Deputy David Gomez, a School Resource Officer in Idaho City, on his lively Facebook Page, the caller told the cops she was
READ MORE“You have to be always drunk,” wrote the French poet Charles Baudelaire. “That’s all there is to it—it’s the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.” “But on what?” Baudelaire asks. With “wine, with
READ MORESupreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, at a recent event with a liberal audience, praised Justice Clarence Thomas, her ideological adversary. Sotomayor said, “He is a man who cares deeply about the court as an institution.” She added that while the two often disagree over judicial decisions, “We share a common understanding about people and kindness
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