Tag Archives: The New York Times

Blooming on Bare Branches

Can we bloom during the many, mini-winters of our springs? Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Blooming, Courage, Family, Ideas, Op/Ed Thoughts, Wonder, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Remember Who You Are

Knowledge of our ancestors, the people who made our lives possible, guides us and helps us remember who we are. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Dementia, Family, Knoxville, Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Collateral Damage

Throughout history humans have sought easy answers to complex issues. When things go wrong, how can we protect the most vulnerable: Women, older people, the poor, and our children? Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Childhood, Courage, Dementia, Family, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Op/Ed Thoughts, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Smiling Like a Showgirl

A letter to my 14-month-old granddaughter during the coronavirus of 2020. Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood, Courage, Family, Ideas, Joy (Joie de General), Love, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day the Music Lived

Buddy Holly’s quintessentially American music could have died with him in a plane crash in 1959. But the power of his idiosyncratic genius lives on. Our music is what defines us and our music is what saves us. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Creativity, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Arriving at Last

In the fall of my senior year at South (Knoxville) High School, I was offered a full scholarship to Berea College, a small liberal arts college in Kentucky. I didn’t know it at the time, but Berea was founded in … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Education, Family, Freedom, Ideas, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Harper Lee’s Handlers Kill a Mockingbird

Ever since I read that To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee’s lawyer Tonya Carter and publisher HarperCollins were planning to publish the first draft of a novel she wrote 57 or so years ago, I have been sick to death … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Op/Ed Thoughts, Screen, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Birds a la Hitchcock, Ballanchine, and Boogaloo

On Wednesday I woke up and looked out our front door to find snow, ice, and swarms of birds (and I mean hundreds, not just a tweeting few) raucously flip-flapping as if they were reenacting a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s … Continue reading →

Posted in "Pets", Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Books, Childhood, Courage, Freedom, Love, Screen, The Arts, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment