What is it about visiting Africa that makes us uncomfortable, while at the same time, in more important ways, feel so serene? Is it simply the poverty? And why do we cling to the aphorism ‘dark continent’ long after colonialism has run its course and cell phones have become ubiquitous? Is there some impregnable mystery […]
So, what is meant by a dystopian world? I certainly had no idea when I drew the first line across the top of the page and wrote down my new book’s title, The Wealth of a Nation; it came by impulse, but subconsciously chosen for reasons that instantly appeared relevant. The evening before, I was […]
My good hearted and energetic publicist sent me a note saying I should write a blog about writing. But I’m not sure what she means. Does she mean writing as a craft? As a chosen avocation? Or as a conscious attempt to scrub my soul clean? What aspect of a bad habit does she want […]
The cost of retreat For those of you who have read Dangle Him Purposely, you know I share the angst of my brethren soldiers. We worry about what would happen to the Vietnamese friends we left behind. Recently a friend, Phil, and I were discussing the carnage wrought after our withdrawal from the war: the […]
Some say that there’s a bit of a killer in all of us. Maybe so, but that doesn’t explain what happened. And I don’t buy the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing. So, if you two have a few minutes, I’ll try to answer your questions, tell you how I remember it, and then you […]
I was about 20 years old that February day when I drove out the gate of Fort Knox and headed across the belly of the country for Reno, Nevada. A storm was coming. The day before, I had purchased a Mercury coup for the trip from a used car salesman on the dingy, leftover side […]
A lesson in immigration Immediately after WWII, the Allies required that all ethnic groups return to their homelands. Germans to Germany, Croats to Croatia, Balkans to the Baltic region. Russians, importantly, returned to Russia. A diaspora in the many millions taking to the road with carts and duffle bags over their shoulders, hauling their children, […]
Oh . . . it takes my breath away. Though, I guess it was expected. Let me have a minute . . . Bein’ what news you have, let me tell you something, dear. You don’t know how we all got out here, do you? No, I didn’t think so. You’ve always lived out west. […]
