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Browsing All posts tagged under »history«

I Thought I’d Never Ask

July 24, 2014

Whenever I learn something brand new – when I read a book, watch a documentary, or go on a guided tour – I eventually find myself bothered by a nagging question about the subject. It’s never the same question, but it’s usually one that undermines the entire presentation. And I always think of it too […]

Speaking of May 25th

May 25, 2014

The twenty-fifth of May is meaningful, because a lot of memorable things in history took place on that date. There’s nothing unusual about that, of course. Important situations can develop quickly, and without warning. This fact is well-documented on many television stations, which provide a continual stream of breaking news, even if that news is […]

Month Four, Day One

April 1, 2014

It’s the first of April, so it would seem appropriate to discuss the origins of April Fools’ Day. I’d intended to do just that, but when I tried to research the subject, I found it to be so dull that I almost had a near-death experience. In fact, the only interesting thing about the topic […]

Funnel Vision

April 14, 2012

Predicting the future is a tricky business, and the results are usually less than impressive. Take, for example, all of those world’s fair exhibits that have attempted to portray life even just a couple of decades ahead. What we always get are flying cars, highways devoid of traffic jams, entire meals in a pill, and […]

India Emerges, Yet Again

February 26, 2011

My friend and blogging buddy, Priya, has published several enlightening posts about India, her homeland. After reading each of those posts on her blog, Partial View, I’ve found that the more I learn, the more questions I have. I don’t think I’m alone. India is still so strangely unfamiliar to most of us who haven’t […]

‘Twas the Night Before School Starts

August 30, 2010

‘Twas the night before school starts, and all through the town, Not a teacher was sleeping, just thrashing around. Thoughts of the classroom brought a tear to each eye, And all of them wished it could still be July. The students, meanwhile, were doing just fine, Texting and talking and typing online. Yet they, too, […]

Eating Quicksand, and My Words

July 17, 2010

I resisted blogging for a long time. I even made fun of the word: blogging. It seemed to describe the sound you’d make if you were drowning in quicksand. Even worse was the term blogosphere. I’m not sure why, but I pictured a huge glass ball splattered with mud. I still do, actually. The truth […]

I Remember Boredom

July 10, 2010

I love history, partly because I enjoy seeing how people lived long ago. I’ve visited dozens of mansions, homesteads, and estates, as well as simpler homes, taking the guided tour whenever one is offered. I pay special attention to the descriptions of the kitchen, of all the related jobs and how they were done. You […]

What Is It Good For?

June 30, 2010

I have never been to war. I don’t know how to write about it, other than to say I hope my son never goes. My thoughts and feelings are simplistic in most areas, and especially so when it comes to this topic. I can’t get much past the level of a young child who asks […]