More than seven years ago, just before the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States sent the world into perpetual "tilt" mode , I wrote this post on Ricochet. I'm reprising it here on the day my mother would have turned 96. November 6, 2016: I spent several hours this morning doing… Continue reading The Simple Things–On the 96th Anniversary of My Mother’s Birth
Category: Plain Speaking
Happy 215th Birthday, Dr. Heinrich Hoffman!
I thought that name was familiar, when I saw it on a notification elsewhere, earlier today. Here's why: Heinrich Hoffman was born in Frankfurt on June 13, 1809. His mother died when he was an infant, and his father subsequently married her sister for what was--by all accounts--a happy marriage for all involved. After qualifying… Continue reading Happy 215th Birthday, Dr. Heinrich Hoffman!
Quote of the Day: On Old Age
The value of old age depends upon the person who reaches it. To some men of early performance it is useless. To others, who are late to develop, it just enables them to finish the job. Today's quote of the day comes from a prolific novelist, Thomas Hardy, who was born 184 years ago, on… Continue reading Quote of the Day: On Old Age
For I Will Consider Christopher Smart, Who Died 253 Years Ago Today. And, Also, Our Penny
One of the most delightful parts of my weekend is opening my email (yes, really, I know how sad that sounds) on Sunday sometime and discovering Douglas Murray’s latest “Things Worth Remembering” installment for The Free Press. I’m a basic (paid) subscriber to the site, so I get all the links and can read the… Continue reading For I Will Consider Christopher Smart, Who Died 253 Years Ago Today. And, Also, Our Penny
Irresponsible, Out-of-Control Woman Shoots Dog She’d Set Up To Fail
I don't write headlines, or epitaphs, for a living. Too short. (They, not I.) Still, were I to attempt one of either (or perhaps both) over the ghastly matter of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's shooting of the fourteen-month old Cricket two decades ago, that would be it. For those not in the know, Noem… Continue reading Irresponsible, Out-of-Control Woman Shoots Dog She’d Set Up To Fail
The State of (Cos)Play
Or maybe the better term is LARPing (which isn’t so easy to fit into a succinct and clever title). In either case, it’s people with privilege (talking about actual, personal, individual privilege, such as students (whatever their background) who’ve been accepted into some of the most elite educational institutions in the world and who, as… Continue reading The State of (Cos)Play
“War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth”–Ernie Pyle
Ernie Pyle died 79 years ago today, on April 18, 1945 in the Iejima Okinawa Prefecture of the Empire of Japan, killed in action while doing what he loved. Having missed out on his first ambition–to serve in World War I–he undertook the study of journalism at Indiana University, and eventually found a career at… Continue reading “War makes strange giant creatures out of us little routine men who inhabit the earth”–Ernie Pyle
Taking a Flier. As it were.
It's an idiom mostly associated with--or so I understand--life in these United States, and it generally means that one gambles on a matter on which one isn't sure of the outcome, but which might return well on an investment, if things work out. Over the course of my life, I've generally taken "fliers" only as… Continue reading Taking a Flier. As it were.
Remembering Guy Fawkes
No, I've not quite lost my mind, and I do have a calendar app on my phone. I know it's April 13, not November 5. (November 5 this year will be doubly memorable, as it's the date of the 2024 US Presidential election.) What today actually is, though, is the likely birthday, four-hundred fifty-four years… Continue reading Remembering Guy Fawkes
The Nattering Ninnies Come for Hillaire Belloc
Yesterday's Telegraph article, about the latest children's book to be given the "trigger warning" treatment, put me in mind of a post from several years in which I held forth on the usefulness of the books which we are now--apparently--too frightened to let our children read without first blighting their minds and prejudging their responses… Continue reading The Nattering Ninnies Come for Hillaire Belloc