Category: Commentary and Reflections
Some Thoughts on the Sinking of IRIS Dena
I have been thinking a good deal about the sinking of the Iranian warship by a US submarine. First, I served in the submarine force, and I have some sense of what those sailors must have experienced as they carried…
The Pack Forever
While going through old photos to select one for my post on Oliver, I came across this photo from February, 2019. (From left to right: Hannah, Oliver, Teddy, and Rainier) It brings back bittersweet memories of our days having these…
An Elegy for Virginia
(St. Ambrose School) I have long subscribed to Dignity Memorial emails from Calcaterra Funeral Home in St. Louis; they are funeral announcements and provide a connection to the neighborhood of my childhood. Calcaterra’s is located on The Hill, where I…
Oliver, Farewell My Buddy
This never gets easier – and is made worse by having lost Hannah less than a year ago. We said goodbye to Oliver yesterday. He had been in declining health for some time, and even more so over the last…
CBS Sunday Morning, Goodbye
I started watching “CBS Sunday Morning” in January 1979, when I was living in Tampa, Florida. With the avuncular Charles Kuralt as host, bringing the same sensibilities he had demonstrated through his many years of the “On the Road” reports,…
Murdered While White
Renee Good was murdered because she was white. Bear with me for a moment before I explain that statement. There is still a good deal of confusion and unknowns about the sequence of events that put her onto a Minneapolis…
A Humbling Experience and Kindness to Strangers
The year 2026 has not started well. An act of war and the kidnapping of the Venezuelan President. Seizure of tankers on the open ocean. More death and destruction in Ukraine. Threats to take over Greenland. Warnings of another war…
Britannia and the End of Empire
Chris Hedges just published a new post on how the decline and fall of the British Empire is a cautionary tale for the United States and its collapsing empire. The parallels are all there. Eugenics; keeping out the ‘fuzzy-wuzzies’; complaints…
Sixteen
Oliver turns 16 today. I have to admit I didn’t think we’d be celebrating this birthday. But I’m quite pleased we have had him with us for another year. Quite an achievement for an Aussie. Mini Australian Shepherds like him…
Autumn Splendor
The corner house on the next block has this tree. It’s why Autumn is my favorite season; even on a cloudy day, the colors are so rich.
