Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots

Connecting the Dots

Recently, I discovered one of the benefits of growing old...beyond mere longevity. Age has forced me to think more intensely. In the past year, I have traveled to Scotland to research the Scottish independence movement and then traveled to Myanmar/Burma to study the human rights efforts in that country. I loved the trip to Scotland. It was nice to return to where I did post-graduate studies 45-years ago, however the trip to Myanmar changed my life. I am a different person than I was before spending a month in Myanmar.

When I returned to the States, I had a routine appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Marchand. My heart issues are fine, but I asked him why I was so driven. He paused for a moment and then said, "You have seen the light."

In the past four months, I have spent a great deal of time writing about seeing the light and attempting to flesh out the next question. Why? Why have I seen the light? In the process, I have looked back on 7-decades of events in my life. Steve Jobs calls these events, dots. I have danced with death a couple times, in which I learned that I was finite. I have become more left of center than I was even back in the 60s during the civil rights movement. I think about the legacy that I will leave the world. I want to use my experiences in my life to help those who are younger to enjoy life. And the list goes on....

Then it dawned on me. That is precisely what Steve Jobs said was the reason for my seeing the light...I was connecting the dots. This is part of his commencement speech at Stanford.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Who I am today is based upon having the wondrous vantage point of connecting many dots over the years. The connecting of those dots as I look back reveals a wondrous revelation of seeing the light...a light like I never imagined as I was experiencing the dots. As the events or dots occur, that is not the time that one can see the meaning of the dots. Nevertheless, hindsight is.


Learn and Become a Storyteller All You Need To Do Is To Travel 05/10/21
The History of Myanmar… Is Being Written Now 05/07/21
Trinity of Guts Or Cult of Chickens 05/05/21
Three Take-Aways From Denzel Washington’s Commencement Address 05/03/21
The Haunting Question Which Sir Launfal Are You? 04/30/21
He Is My Brother On This Pale Blue Dot 04/28/21
Problems Offer a Choice Either a Cul-de-sac or a Challenge 04/23/21
A Religious Disconnect A Human Disconnect 04/21/21
A Funny Thing Happened While on Zoom My Fourth La Danse Macabre 04/19/21
Learning from Collecting Written by a Collector of Treasures 04/16/21
Are You Looking for a Mentor? This is My Advice 04/12/21
My Quest to Find Meaning Life My Search for My Holy Grail 04/07/21
As Kierkegaard Said It Is Either/Or 04/05/21
A Disadvantage of Being a WASPWe All Need to Learn 04/02/21
A Trilogy of Choices Either Rewriting History, Editing History, or Reliving History 03/31/21
Getting on the Same PageIn My Class and Our World 03/29/21
My Love of Teaching This Is An Example 03/26/21
I Told You SoPride Goeth Before Destruction 03/24/21
I Live in Two WorldsI Have Benefited from One World 03/22/21
Teaching Moments TodayAnd Teaching Moments for the Future 03/15/21
What Demosthenes, Bobby Kennedy, and Gilgamesh… Could Teach Mumbling Mitch 03/12/21
Getting My Second COVID Shot… And Immortality 03/05/21
A Tale of Two Countries And a Present-Day Theme and Variation of Life 03/03/21
What Makes Me Tick and Teach? No Pain, No Gain 03/01/21
We Live in Two Different WorldsChoose Wisely Your World 02/05/21
The Pandas and My PoohAnd Other Followers of Gilgamesh 02/03/21
Learning Is Three-Dimensional… But It Is Discovered On the Road 01/29/21
Stopping in the WoodsWhile Dreaming Dreams 01/27/21
Where’s the Proof?The New Me 01/25/21
Finding ImmortalityGilgamesh and Ti Ti 01/22/21
There are Facts…And There are Fake Facts. 01/20/21
The Gilgamesh EpicThen and Now 01/18/21
The Answer to the Question…What’s It All About, Alfie? 01/15/21
Purposeful LivesOn Steroids 01/13/21
Donald, It Was a Bridge Too FarAnd You Lost, Again. 01/11/21
Seeing Ourselves as Others See UsIn This Case, Ti Ti Seeing Herself 01/08/21
An Old White Guy Explains RacismAnother Teaching Moment 01/04/21
A Christmas Carol in 2020…It Is in Giving that We Get 12/25/20
Where Is a Martin Niemöller…When We Need an Honest Person? 12/23/20
When Opportunity KnocksCarpe Diem 12/18/20
Achilles’ HeelThen and Now 12/16/20
Your Meaning of Being…What Is It? 12/14/20
This Is a Teaching MomentAbout America 12/07/20
Hitler’s Bunker MentalityThen and Now 12/04/20
Bobby Burns’ Message…For Ti Ti 11/23/20
A Modafinil Moment…Revisited 11/20/20
Emails Past and PresentA Reflection Upon Our World 11/09/20
Modafinil and Lao TzuBenefit My Pooh Dog 11/06/20
Discerning the TruthA Means to Live Life 11/04/20
It Was Four Years AgoAnd What a Difference Four Years Makes 11/02/20
The Importance of the Sound of Music…According to Nietzsche and Me 10/26/20
On Deciphering the Truth…By Thinking 10/23/20
The Giving and GettingBoth Parties Benefit 10/21/20
Ti Ti Teaches a Myanmar MythTo Her Sister 10/19/20
Hear Ye, Hear Ye…Ti Ti Is Starting College Today! 10/16/20
Bunker Time A Prediction 10/14/20
Damned If He Does, and Damned If He Doesn’t. On Being on the Horns of a Dilemma 10/12/20
The Devil Made Me Do It. A Presidential Duet 10/09/20
Amazing Grace Or More of the Same Insanity 10/07/20
My Two Worlds…Affect My Life 10/05/20
Bad KarmaSticks to People 10/02/20
This is Success in the MakingYou Heard It First from PaPa Al 09/30/20
Jainism or the JusticeThe Place of Women in the World 09/28/20
This Is an AddendumTi Ti, the Bridge Builder 09/25/20
From Then to NowWhat a Difference Seven Years Has Made 09/23/20
Masks Matter…To Some 09/16/20
Two PoemsBy Two Ladies 09/14/20
A Present Day Parable for AmericaIt Is All About Sharing 09/11/20
I Live in Two Worlds:One in the States and One in Myanmar 09/07/20
Coming Home to RoostKierkegaard, Mt. Lebanon, Dancing, and My Family 09/04/20
There Is More to Dreaming…Than Just Dreaming 08/07/20
Focusing My Stream of ConsciousnessBy Watching a Movie 08/05/20
A Teaching MomentWhile Walking Ginger 07/31/20
Egoism vs AltruismThere is a Better Way 07/27/20
Ti TiMy Granddaughter and Poet Laurate 07/24/20
"Give Me a Place to Stand...And I Will Move the World.” 07/20/20
The Brighter Side of My LifeDue to a Serendipitous Moment 07/15/20
A Tribute to SnowMy Granddaughter in Myanmar 07/08/20
A Tribute to Ti Ti The Young Lady 07/06/20
I Dream Things That Never Were…And Say Way Not” 07/03/20
The Morphing Together of a Salt Lamp, Nero, and Cat StevensAn Insight for the Present Day 06/29/20
The Good, the Bad, and the UglyWe Can Do Better 06/26/20
Another of Santayana’s Teaching Moment Maybe We Will Learn This Time 06/24/20
The Long-Neck WomenA Tradition in Myanmar 06/24/20
Living in Two Worlds…Part 2The Utopian Time 06/17/20
Living in Two WorldsPart 1 06/15/20
Reflections on My Journey Down the Yellow Brick RoadOur Clocks Are Ticking 06/12/20
An Open-Letter to the WorldTimes They Are a-Changin' 06/05/20
Ti Ti’s Spin on My WeltanschauungAnd Mine on Hers 06/01/20
Living in the New NormalOur New World Order 05/29/20
It Is All About FamilyAnd Who Makes Up Our Family 05/20/20
Our Reason for BeingDiscover It 05/18/20
The Elephant RideOver the Alps of Myanmar 05/11/20
Thinking Outside the Box of COVID-19And How You Will Benefit 05/08/20
Ballooning Over BaganWith My Family 05/06/20
Ti Ti…The Amazing Young Lady 04/29/20
Taung Kwe PagodaAn Out of the World Location 04/27/20
Why I Love Inle LakeTwo Reasons 04/22/20
The Week That WasDance on with Determination 04/20/20
“I Could Stand in the Middle of Fifth Avenue….”You Are Standing on Main Streets in America and Shooting 04/13/20
The Brighter Side of LifeSomewhat Brighter 04/10/20
Plague DoctorThen and Now 04/06/20
Understanding Life as We Live ItSonata Pathétique 04/03/20
Another Miracle Drug…Maybe 03/30/20
Regarding Dancing with CoronavirusCampbell’s Five Commandments 03/25/20
Let’s Make a DealThanks to Modafinil 03/23/20
A Teaching MomentFor Today and the Future 03/18/20
We Face Two PandemicsBoth Need Immediate Attention 03/11/20
Think Before You ActThen Dare Greatly 03/09/20
Holy TerrorMy Nom De Guerre 03/04/20
“Let’s Get Going.”An Important Lesson of Life
(FLASH: The lost video sound is back)		 03/02/20
How Playing Scrabble Changed My LifeWho Would Have Thought? 02/28/20
Mr. ChipsAn Updated Version 02/26/20
Angry Old MenThere is an Alternative 02/21/20
What Drives MeBack Then and Now 02/19/20
GingerPart 3 of a 4 Part Series 02/05/20
The Republican TrinitySessions, Bolton, and Roberts 01/31/20
The Teak BridgePart 2 of a 4 Parts Series 01/29/20
Reflections on My LifeIn My Twilight Years 01/27/20
A Present-Day ParableWhich Can Be Understood 01/24/20
My Home Looks Like the Uffizi GalleryPart 1 of 4 Parts 01/22/20
It Is All About the Song…In the Days of Auld Lang Syne 01/20/20
My Swan SongAnd My Family’s Swan Song 01/17/20
I Found Another Incarnation of Bo Bo GyiWhile on Inle Lake 01/15/20
I Found Another Incarnation of Bo Bo GyiWhile on Inle Lake 01/15/20
Theseus and Me A Ball of String or Modafinil 10/02/19
Icarus and Trump On Flying Too Low 09/30/19
Autotelic Vincent, Me, and Modafinil 09/27/19
Vaping vs Guns That is the Question 09/23/19
Perspective What You See Is What You Get. 09/20/19
The Reason for the Hole in the Mountain This Isn’t Fake News 09/18/19
Plagiarism Sharpie-Gate 09/11/19
I Get That Ibn Battuta Loved Travel… But Why? 09/09/19
What Fascinates Me About Ginger In Our Time Together 09/06/19
Modafinil— The Pill that Stopped My Meandering 09/04/19
Troll’s Tongue Or Troll’s Tail 09/02/19
My Yearning for Faraway Places… That I’ve Never Been or Will See Again 08/26/19
My Wonder Drug Modafinil 08/23/19
A Teaching Moment “Catch the Trade Winds in Your Sails” 08/21/19
Either/Or…Part 2 I Can Live with a Dent 08/19/19
Thoughts About Willie Nelson’s Song…. On the Road Again 08/14/19
Trump and White Supremacy The Torch Has Been Passed to a New Generation 08/09/19
Learning Important Lessons About Life… From a U-2 Pilot 08/05/19
My Next Adventure: The Die is Cast 08/02/19
Jack's 9th Birthday Gifts from Famous People 07/31/19
Owen’s 7th Birthday Gifts from Famous People 07/29/19
Ginger, King of the Mountain Taught Me a Lesson 07/24/19
Quisling Then and Now Repeating History 07/22/19
Ginger’s Vet My Shrink 07/19/19
The Dog Days of Summer Without Air Conditioning 07/17/19
And the Winner Is…. Who Will Get the Nobel Prize for Peace? 07/15/19
Leo Tolstoy What He Learned About Communication 07/01/19
Music as a Unifying Force Also for Oneself 06/28/19
My Family Escaped From the Jurassic Park in Myanmar 06/21/19
Family Who Is Your Family? 06/17/19
Pick Your Mentors But Be Careful About Who and Why 06/14/19
A Whiter Shade of Pale What’s It All About? 06/12/19
“Go Fly a Kite!” Franklin Did 06/10/19
Nietzsche and Ginger Übermensch or ÜberGinger 05/27/19
The Climate Change Debate Evolved from the Scopes Monkey Trial 05/24/19
Prometheus, Galileo, and Nietzsche Verses Zeus, God, and Nihilism 05/22/19
Carl Sagan The World Learned Much from Him 05/06/19
Wanderlust Travel with No Regret 05/01/19
The Moving Finger Writes And the Writings Haunt Me 04/26/19
Several Things That I Need in Life And That’s When I Need You 04/24/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Jacob Soboroff 04/15/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Contacting Clarence Page 04/12/19
Hanging My Problem on My Lantern Contacting Rod Stewart 04/10/19
Lord of the Dance From Three Perspectives 04/05/19
Scared! Seen as a Teaching Moment 04/08/19
Coffin Bridge… Build What You Need 04/01/19
Vocation of An Old Man… Being a Bridge Builder 03/29/19
I Will Rage, Rage… On Behalf of 1250 Students and One Celestial Comet 03/25/19
Three Songs Morphed Together Creating Meaning in Life 03/22/19
The Purpose of the Universe Or My Window on the World 03/20/19
Ti Ti… A Remarkable Young Lady 03/18/19
Dealing with the Reaper By Coming Alive and Living 03/13/19
Dreaming…. About My Moment in Time 03/11/19
Going Belly-Up Whales and People 03/08/19
One Moment in Time Carpe Diem 03/04/19
Before Trump’s America And After Trump’s America 03/01/19
NiC and Narcissus There Is a Better Alternative. 02/27/19
Inferiority Complex Womb Envy vs. Penis Envy 02/25/19
Tintern Abbey Viewed by Wordsworth and Turner 02/18/19
My Fistful of Meā Culpā… To Our President 02/15/19
I Made a Mistake… Imagine That 02/13/19
This Essay Is About Morphing Pelosi, Donald the Dumb, Pausch, Gandhi, and Me 02/11/19
Something to Dream About While Waiting for the IRS’s Approval 02/08/19
The Value of Pain Can Produce Ultimate Bliss 02/04/19
A Very Brief History of Sexism in Science It All Started with a Blinking Neutron Star 02/01/19
This Essay Addresses Alfie What’s It All About? 01/28/19
Two Despicables Who Saw the Light Colson and Cohen 01/23/19
Hauntings from Deep Space…. From the Tabby’s Star 01/21/19
Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse It Is a Good Sign for Me 01/18/19
The Wall Issue The True Value of a Wall 01/14/19
Pa Pa Al’s Grandfatherly Advice To Ti Ti Who Doesn’t Need It. 01/11/19
Reflections 01/09/19
Looking at Life From Both Sides Now 1/7/19
A New Year’s Eve With a New Resolution for the Coming Year 12/31/18
Christmas Gifts for Owen From People Around the World 12/28/18
Christmas Gifts for Jack From People Around the World 12/26/18
Ginger, My Intelligent Dog… And Aerodynamics 12/24/18
Krampus, the Bad Santa… Is Coming to Get You 12/21/18
What Drives Me… My Himalayan Salt Lamps 12/19/18
It’s All About Family I Agree with John Lewis 12/17/18
Mini-Me and Dr. Evil… Then and Now 12/14/18
Reflections on The Magnificent Seven… 12/12/18
Captain Ahab and His Incarnation In Donald the Dumb 12/10/18
The Magnificent Seven… My Dream Team 12/07/18
Would You Like Some Vintage Wine? I Would! 12/05/18
What’s It Like Being a Neanderthal? Most of Us Have Some Neanderthal DNA 12/03/18
From Mud To Macadam 11/30/18
I Celebrate Two Thanksgiving Days… And This Is Why 11/22/18
"Look at Me I Am Old but I’m Happy" 11/14/18
Building a Log Cabin You Are Really Smart; I’ll Tell My Brother 11/12/18
On Land and Sea We Are All Greeks 11/05/18
Lack of Leadership In Turbulent Times 11/02/18
Serendipitous Moments in My Life And They Are Haunting Me 10/31/18
Happy Birthday to My Ginger Pooh Who is Two 10/29/18
Donald the Dumb Should Have Taken Art History 10/26/18
Keep Calm And Things Seem to Work Out 10/24/18
On Making Your Mark And Leaving It 10/22/18
The Relevance of Religion In the World 10/15/18
Sexism in Society Especially in Washington 10/05/18
Rhythm of My Heart Here and Abroad 10/03/18
“Holy Mackerel” Thus Spoke Ginger 10/01/18
Another Return to Casablanca To Understand the Present 09/28/18
Teaching Students And Learning as a Teacher 09/24/18
A Noble Person… Meets Another Noble Person 09/17/18
Hand of a Little Child… Ti Ti 09/12/18
Admiral McRaven and St. Francis Two Similar Minds 08/29/18
A Strange Third Dance.... Indeed. 08/24/18
Ginger Is the Love of My Life As Seen in Music That I Love 08/20/18
What Goes Around Comes Around…Again and Again 08/17/18
Deep State Bob Woodward and Me 08/15/18
Be a Dreamer.... And Never Quit Dreaming. 08/10/18
Snow, the Virtuoso Träumerei and The Great Gate of Kiev 08/06/18
It Is In Giving That We Get Being Like Bobby 08/03/18
The Ripple Effect… “…Can Sweep Down the Mightiest Walls.” 07/23/18
Eppie… Then and Now 07/20/18
The Weaker Sex Will Soon Be the Dominant Sex 07/11/18
If I fail, If I Fail… I Will While Daring Greatly 07/06/18
It Is a Matter of Either / Or… It Is a Matter of Either / Or… Lady Liberty or Donald the Dumb, Despicable, and Dishonest. 07/04/18
Possible Explanations of Death Possible Explanations of Death A Personal Apocalypse 06/29/18
Teach Your Children Well Lasko and Trump They are Coming To Get You…. 06/22/18
Ti Ti, Snow, and Fatty Having Fun Without PaPa Al 06/20/18
holmes-washington thumbnail Clarity About Dancing Being Arthur Murray in the Real World 06/11/18
holmes-washington thumbnail The House of Fear And the Orange Pips 06/08/18
The Goddess Ganga The Goddess Ganga The Transcendence of Reality 06/06/18
Ti Ti And Family Ti Ti and Her Family My Assistants in Myanmar 05/28/18
who are your mentors Who Are Your Mentors? Here Are Mine 05/21/18
10 Years And Counting Ten Years and Counting What a Difference a Dance Makes 05/18/18
758 Horns Of Dilemma 758 Horns of a Dilemma The House of Cards 05/16/18
Forrester and Jamal Forrester and Jamal You and I 05/11/18
Projection Lock Him Up Projection Lock Him Up 05/07/18
Moh Moh Bobby And Me Moh Moh, Bobby, and Me…. All Dreamers 04/30/18
wrinkle in time A Wrinkle in Time Thinking Outside the Box 04/25/18
learning what you thought Learning When You Thought You Knew… All There Was to Know 04/18/18
dear papa al Dear PaPa Al..... Dear Ti Ti 04/16/18
federick_douglass thumbnail Frederick Douglass A Better Man Than I 04/13/18
bobbys-suggestion thumbnail Bobby’s Suggestion About My Problems… A School in Taunggyi, Myanmar 04/06/18
holmes-washington thumbnail Sherlock Holmes In Washington While We Drank Ginger Grog 04/04/18
easter-island thumbnail Easter Island In the Past and Future 04/02/18
follow-up thumbnail My Follow-Up… To My Email To Ti Ti 03/19/18
marner-me thumbnail Marner and Eppie Me and the Girls 03/16/18
lecture-harvard thumbnail I Want to Have My Last Lecture at Harvard On March 9, 2043 03/09/18
question thumbnail The Question Is… How Will You Be Remembered? 02/26/18
age-revolution thumbnail An Age of Revolution If We But Know What To Do With It 02/16/18
heart-issues thumbnail My Heart Issues Both Hearts 02/14/18
having-purpose thumbnail Having a Purpose Carpe Diem 02/12/18
widow-mite thumbnail The Widow’s Mite And the Rich Donald the Dumb 02/09/18
water-horse thumbnail The Water Horse of Loch Ness And Our Water Horses of Life 02/07/18
asking-questions thumbnail The Art of Asking Questions… About Which You Know the Answers 02/05/18
shopping-spree thumbnail A Shopping Spree With My Three Granddaughters 02/02/18
moh-tin-me thumbnail Moh Moh, Tin Tin, and Me We Are the Incarnations of Bobby 01/31/18
dressed-kill thumbnail Dressed to Kill Ginger and I Watched Another Sherlock Holmes Mystery 01/29/18
i-failed thumbnail I Failed For the Time Being 01/26/18
learned-highschool thumbnail What I Learned In High School Applies To This Moment In Time 01/24/18
lesson-dreaming thumbnail Lesson Learned About Dreaming I Learned from Bobby 01/22/18
family thumbnail We Are Family Versus Racism 01/19/18
bobby-runt thumbnail Bobby the Runt Turned into Bobby the Leader 01/17/18
moments-teaching thumbnail There Are Moments in Teaching... That Are Rewarding 01/15/18
best-week thumbnail The Best Week of My Life… Occurred While I Was in Burma 01/12/18
terror-night thumbnail Terror by Night The Third of our Date and Dinner 01/08/18
meaning-of-life thumbnail My Thoughts about the Meaning of Life My Perspective from My Twilight Years 01/05/18
gingers-world-2 thumbnail Ginger's World... Blends with My World 01/03/18
another-breakfast thumbnail Another Breakfast with My Shrink Dealing with Dreaming 01/01/18
America thumbnail America As Bobby, Moh Moh, and the Jazz Singer See It 12/25/17
Scarlet Claw thumbnail The Scarlet Claw A Date Night Movie 12/18/17
Dreaming Dreams thumbnail Dreaming Dreams that Never Were... Asking Why Not. 12/15/17
Death Dance thumbnail Doing the Dance... Fathoming the Unfathomable 12/11/17
Blue Eyes thumbnail Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain While Plowing 12/08/17
Ginger World thumbnail Ginger's World... Blends with My World 12/06/17
Confucius Said thumbnail Confucius Said... But We Haven’t Listened 12/04/17
Tick-Tock thumbnail Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock... Remember the Past or Repeat It. 11/29/17
Big Fib thumbnail The Big Fib: "I'm, like, a really smart person." 11/27/17
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address thumbnail Lincoln's Gettysburg Address... Then and Now 11/20/17
Edmund Fitzgerald thumbnail The Haunting of the Edmund Fitzgerald Doomed Before Setting Sail 11/17/17
Many Michelangelo thumbnail The Many Michelangelo Painters of the Cave The Renaissance of the Paleolithic Period 11/13/17
Tattoo of Pooh thumbnail The Tattoo of My Pooh and Me Ginger and Don Quixote 11/10/17
The Reason thumbnail The Reason Behind... Everything 11/08/17
Balfour thumbnail The Balfour Declaration One Explanation for the Mess in the Middle East 11/01/17
Welles Scares America thumbnail Another Fake News Item War of the Worlds 10/30/17
Fake News thumbnail Fake News... Of the Italian Renaissance 10/25/17
Live In The Moment thumbnail Live in the Moment... Plan for the Future 10/20/17
Ashley and Michael thumbnail What I Owe Ashley and Michael Wall Removal 10/11/17
Ginger Santayana thumbnail Ginger and Santayana Remember the Past 10/09/17
Lawrence of Arabia thumbnail Lawrence of Arabia One of My Mentors 10/06/17
Ti Ti thumbnail Ti Ti A Reason for Being 10/02/17
Ginger and I thumbnail Ginger and I Promises To Keep and Miles To Go Before We Sleep 09/29/17
Ginger Longshanks thumbnail Ginger AKA Longshanks 09/27/17
Mr. Lee thumbnail Mr. Lee and Mr. Rotteveel Two Stories: About When I Was Young and When I Am Old 09/22/17
Double Axe thumbnail The Double-Axe A Symbol of My Identity 09/15/17
I'm On the Road Again thumbnail I’m On the Road Again But Why? 09/08/17
The Hollow Man thumbnail The Hollow Man Who Wears Long Ties 09/04/17
When Dreaming thumbnail When Dreams Aren’t Realized What Should You Do? 09/01/17
The Issue of Kissing thumbnail Ginger And the Issue of Kissing 08/30/17
Minnows or Manhood thumbnail Minnows or Manhood Or Scent of a Woman.... 08/28/17
Akhenaten thumbnail Akhenaten... My Mentor 08/25/17
Get Educated thumbnail Get Educated— Travel 08/23/17
Essay with No Words thumbnail Essay with No Words But Look At My Eyes 08/21/17
Better Angels thumbnail “Better Angels of Our Nature” In America, Mexico, and Burma 08/19/17
Clarence Page thumbnail Clarence Page and Donald the Dumb— The President of Trump University 08/18/17
Draining the Swap thumbnail Draining the Swamp... And Adding to the Swamp 08/14/17
To Attach or Not Attach thumbnail To Attach or Not to Attach That Is the Question 08/11/17
Ti Ti Poem thumbnail Ti Ti and I A Most Haunting Relationship 08/04/17
Macbeth Hamlet thumbnail Macbeth... Guilt Spills Itself for Fear of Being Spilt 08/02/17
Pentagon Paper thumbnail The Pentagon Papers... Then and Now 07/31/17
Unconditional Love thumbnail Ginger And Her Unconditional Love 07/28/17
Indianapolis Atomic Bomb thumbnail USS Indianapolis and Connecting the Dots Quint, Jack, and Owen 07/26/17
America First thumbnail America First Has Been Replaced... With Me First 07/24/17
Just Another Lie thumbnail Just Another Lie Of the Liar-In-Chief 07/21/17
Trinity Oppenheimer thumbnail Oppie The Scientist and the Philosopher 07/17/17
Dump Me Off thumbnail Just Drop Me Off And Ginger’s Toy Dog 07/14/17
Rage Rage thumbnail Rage, Rage... Against the Pissing Pug 07/10/17
Henry and Becket thumbnail Henry II and Thomas Becket Then and Now 07/07/17
Burma Road thumbnail What Did I Learn... From Vinegar Joe 07/05/17
Pledge Allegiance thumbnail I Pledge Allegiance To Donald the Dumb 07/03/17
Impeachment thumbnail Impeachment of Trump And the Tower of Babel 06/30/17
Sexism in the World thumbnail Sexism in the World Why? 06/28/17
Donald the Dumb's Dilemma thumbnail Donald the Dumb’s Dilemma Falling from Great Heights 06/21/17
Benefit of Failed Dreams thumbnail The Benefit of Failed Dreams The Dalai Lama’s Oxymoron 06/19/17
Teaching Donald the Dumb thumbnail Teaching Donald the Dumb There Is No Happiness Where There Is No Wisdom 06/16/17
The Ides of June thumbnail The Ides of June And Religious Ties 06/14/17
Grace Under Pressure thumbnail “Grace Under Pressure” The Way to be a Leader 06/12/17
First Witch Hung thumbnail First and Last Witch Hunt... The Work of the Village Idiots 06/09/17
Unquenchable Drive thumbnail Learning, the Unquenchable Drive Travel and Learn 06/07/17
What Were You Doing thumbnail What Were You Doing on D-Day? Being What You Might Have Been 06/05/17
Breaking News thumbnail Breaking News from Ginger About Trump Colluding with the Russians and Putin 06/02/17
Global Warming thumbnail HMS Terror, HMS Erebus, Global Warming… Or Nonsense from Those Godless Chinese Communists 05/26/17
Haunting of Hachi thumbnail The Hauntings of Hachikō and Bobby… And the Haunting of My Gingers 05/24/17
Bridge Builders thumbnail Bridge Builder or Wall Builder A Clear Choice for Donald the Dumb 05/22/17
Ginger's Predecessors thumbnail Ginger’s Predecessors And My Domesticated Carnivore 05/19/17
Morphing Of My World thumbnail Class, Easter Ham, and Kayaking... The Morphing of My World 05/15/17
Three Blind Mice thumbnail Three Blind Mice… And Bloody Mary 05/08/17
I'm Not Going Silently thumbnail Do Not Going Gently Into That Good Night I Will Rage 05/05/17
Brexit vs Scoxit thumbnail Brexit vs Scoxit The Death Blow to the British Empire 05/01/17
To Become thumbnail To Become… What You Might Have Been 04/28/17
Getting It Together thumbnail Getting It Together… An Avenue to Acquiring Dreams 04/26/17
Ginger's World thumbnail Ginger’s World… Donald the Dumb’s Cave 04/24/17
Campbell's Cooking Class thumbnail Campbell’s Cooking Class Teaches More Than Cooking 04/21/17
The Meaning of Life thumbnail The Meaning of Life It Is All About Fighting the Good Fight for Others 04/19/17
Bowl of Cherries thumbnail Life Is a Bowl of Cherries Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men 04/14/17
This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef thumbnail This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef... And Ginger Devoured the Little Piggy’s Ear 04/10/17
Elephant in the Room thumbnail Elephant in the Room Trump's Mental State 04/07/17
the-amazing-process-called-learning thumbnail The Amazing Process Called Learning Thinking Outside the Box 04/05/17
Pride Before Fall thumbnail Pride Before Fall Learnings from History 04/03/17
Chick Magnet thumbnail Chick Magnet And the Hauntings 03/31/17
Approval Ratings thumbnail Approval Ratings For Someone Who is Insecure 03/29/17
The Hauntings thumbnail The Hauntings About Bobby and the Gingers 03/27/17
Emperor's Clothes thumbnail Emperor's Clothes The Donald Isn't Invisible 03/24/17
A Tweet to God... thumbnail A Tweet to God... A Tweet from James Baldwin 03/20/17
Crowd Size thumbnail Crowd Size Size Isn't Critical, But the Truth Is 03/15/17
On Riding to Samara thumbnail On Riding to Samara Then and Now.... 03/10/17
Invictus thumbnail Invictus Thank You, Mrs. Davis 03/06/17
A Dog's Purpose thumbnail A Dog's Purpose The Person's Purpose 03/03/17
What Donald the Dumb is Missing in Life? thumbnail What Donald the Dumb is Missing in Life? Eppie 03/01/17
P.T. Barnum Has Returned to Life thumbnail P.T. Barnum Has Returned to Life What Goes Around, Comes Around 02/27/17
Robert the Bruce thumbnail Robert the Bruce I'll Drink to Him! 02/17/17
Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... thumbnail Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... And Ginger 02/15/17
Ginger, Socks, and Poe thumbnail Ginger, Socks, and Poe Finding Lenore.... 02/13/17
Narcissus and the Donald thumbnail Narcissus and the Donald "I Love Me...." 02/10/17
Adams and Jefferson thumbnail Adams and Jefferson An Ethical Battle 02/08/17
Lambs Eat Ivy thumbnail Lambs Eat Ivy And Ginger Eats Lamb Ears 02/06/17
Icarus and the Donald thumbnail Icarus and the Donald Warning About Flying Too High 02/03/17
The Meaning of Ginger thumbnail The Meaning of Ginger The Winter Solstice 02/01/17
Winfield Scott thumbnail Winfield Scott And Where I Live 01/25/17
How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? thumbnail How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? Answer: Ikigai 01/20/17
The Value of Travel: thumbnail The Value of Travel: Education 01/13/17
We Don't Have a Democracy... thumbnail We Don't Have a Democracy... Yet Either 01/06/17
A Lesson of Life thumbnail A Lesson of Life Learned from a Cockroach 01/04/17
Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady thumbnail Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady It Is All About Determination 01/02/17
Step Beyond the Impossible Wall thumbnail Step Beyond the Impossible Wall Learning from the Mongols 12/28/16
The Great Value of the Philosophers' Stone... thumbnail The Great Value of the Philosophers' Stone... To Me 12/21/16
Accomplishing Things in Life... thumbnail Accomplishing Things in Life... Even Long Shots 12/16/16
Teach Your Children, Part 2 thumbnail Teach Your Children, Part 2 But When? 12/12/16
Mentor Tell You Something About You thumbnail Mentor Tell You Something About You The Value of Post-it Notes 12/09/16
Only Those Who Dare to Fail... thumbnail Only Those Who Dare to Fail... Can Achieve 12/05/16
Deplorable... thumbnail Deplorable... Defining the Definition 11/25/16
Chimps or Bonobos thumbnail Chimps or Bonobos From Whence Did You Evolve? 11/21/16
Roll Me Up thumbnail Roll Me Up I Am Free to be Me at 73 11/18/16
The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan thumbnail The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan Triangulation Process 11/14/16
Teach Your Children... thumbnail Teach Your Children... To Dream 10/28/16
Moby Dick Found thumbnail Moby Dick Found But Not in a Book 10/19/16
Resurrecting Dashed Dreams thumbnail Resurrecting Dashed Dreams By Continuing to Dream 10/17/16
Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail thumbnail Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail Remember the Past 10/05/16
I Challenge the Trim Trump thumbnail I Challenge the Trim Trump To Test His Stamina Against Mine 10/03/16
The Fighting Téméraire thumbnail The Fighting Téméraire Explained My Nostalgia to Me 09/21/16
Why Do I Care? thumbnail Why Do I Care? More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care? 09/16/16
The Meltdown of the Donald thumbnail The Meltdown of the Donald As America Watches 09/12/16
Moh Moh Spoke thumbnail Moh Moh Spoke And She Sounded Like Don Quixote 09/09/16
thumbnail Return to Myanmar Dream Big 09/02/16
Trying and Failing... thumbnail Trying and Failing... Is Better than Failing without Trying 08/26/16
Listening to My Mentors thumbnail Listening to My Mentors And Dreaming Impossible Dreams 08/19/16
The Terrorism Trifecta thumbnail The Terrorism Trifecta Three More Dances with Death 08/12/16
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us. 07/29/16
The Queen's Haunting... thumbnail The Queen's Haunting... Bohemian Rhapsody 07/27/16
My Love Letters thumbnail My Love Letters They Must Be Written 07/22/16
We Shall Overcome thumbnail We Shall Overcome A Belief Amid Darkness 07/18/16
Prediction of Clinton's Running Mate thumbnail Prediction of Clinton's Running Mate And Her Running Mate Is.... 07/08/16
Last Words thumbnail Last Words Or Don Quixote's Joists with Windmills 07/04/16
Bloody Hands and No Backbone thumbnail Bloody Hands and No Backbone What a Legacy 06/20/16
My Sherpa Statue Spoke thumbnail My Sherpa Statue Spoke A Valuable Time Spent Listening 06/17/16
The 5-Things Test thumbnail The 5-Things Test Seeing Yourself as Others See You 06/15/16
The Angel Spoke... thumbnail The Angel Spoke... And I Listened. 06/10/16
The Thinkers Three thumbnail The Thinkers Three Jack, Owen, and Me 06/06/16
The Donald thumbnail The Donald The Relationship Between Ignorance and Knowledge 05/20/16
Mr. Turner thumbnail Mr. Turner The Dualism of Feelings 05/06/16
Morphing of the Flu with Polio thumbnail Morphing of the Flu with Polio A Strange Juxtaposition 04/29/16
I am Don Quixote thumbnail I am Don Quixote But I Am Not from La Mancha 04/15/16
thumbnail Maude Adams Found Somewhere in Time 04/13/16
In My Life thumbnail In My Life I'll Never Lose Affection for People and Things 04/11/16
Don Quixote and Albert Einstein thumbnail Don Quixote and Albert Einstein The Two Dreamers 04/04/16
Learning from My Mentor thumbnail Learning from My Mentor A Knight-Errant On His Deathbed 03/28/16
On Seeing the Light thumbnail On Seeing the Light Chuck, Paul, and Me 03/04/16
Two Roads in the Wood thumbnail Two Roads in the Wood Choose Wisely 02/26/16
Grave or No Grave thumbnail Grave or No Grave That is the Question 02/22/16
Best of Times, Worst of Times thumbnail Best of Times, Worst of Times It Is Your Choice; Choose Wisely 02/19/16
Buddha's Strange Parable... thumbnail Buddha's Strange Parable... Which We Need to Understand 02/15/16
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming About My List of Dulcineas 02/12/16
Another Dancer thumbnail Another Dancer David Hume 02/01/16
Revitalizing My Brain thumbnail Revitalizing My Brain After Winding Up in ICU 01/25/16
"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun." Randy Pausch is Correct 01/15/16
The Little Match Girl thumbnail The Little Match Girl And The Golden Statue 01/11/16
The Very Strange Year of 2008 thumbnail The Very Strange Year of 2008 A Year to Remember 01/08/16
The Gift of an Angel thumbnail The Gift of an Angel It is More About My Feelings 01/06/16
Pathatique thumbnail Pathétique Moving Music 12/16/15
Doing the Dance Again thumbnail Doing the Dance Again How to Address Both New Dances 12/11/15
I Decided to Support the Emperor Donald thumbnail I Decided to Support the Emperor Donald Starting with His Red Tie 12/07/15
I Know Who I Am... thumbnail I Know Who I Am... And Have Found Two People Who Understand Me 12/04/15
Take Your Passion and Make It Happen thumbnail Take Your Passion and Make It Happen Flashdance Follow-up 11/27/15
Responses to Paris thumbnail Responses to Paris Both Are Vital 11/25/15
What a Feeling thumbnail What a Feeling And It Is a Great Feeling 11/20/15
Want to See What I'm Wearing for Halloween? thumbnail Want to See What I'm Wearing for Halloween? A Profound Question 11/16/15
The Campbell Cookie Jar thumbnail The Campbell Cookie Jar The Tie In Between the Past and the Present 10/28/15
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True 10/19/15
The Old Pine Table thumbnail The Old Pine Table An Object of Renewal and Rebirth 10/14/15
It's Confession Time... thumbnail It's Confession Time... And It Isn't Sunday 10/09/15
The Mahogany Bench thumbnail The Mahogany Bench A Place for Dreaming.... 10/07/15
The Little Wooden Box thumbnail The Little Wooden Box An Updated Pandora's Box 09/30/15
A Great Dancer with Death thumbnail A Great Dancer with Death A Sobering Experience 09/21/15
Putting the Pieces Together thumbnail Putting the Pieces Together The Joy of Coming of Age 09/18/15
The Tulip Pitcher thumbnail The Tulip Pitcher A Picture of Springtime 09/16/15
Songs Can Make the World Go Around... thumbnail Songs Can Make the World Go Around... Peacefully. 09/11/15
The Felt Picture thumbnail The Felt Picture A Picture of Hopefulness 09/09/15
A Second Look at Life thumbnail A Second Look at Life Toward the End of Life 09/07/15
The Japanese Surrendered... thumbnail The Japanese Surrendered... But Why? 09/02/15
From Whence Does the Spark Come? thumbnail From Whence Does the Spark Come? The Creative Act of Pondering 08/24/15
The Value of Pain thumbnail The Value of Pain Or How to Retrieve the Torpedo 08/21/15
Discovery of Terracotta Warriors thumbnail Discovery of Terracotta Warriors... And Nessie 08/14/15
A Man with a Mission... thumbnail A Man with a Mission... Sinking a German U-boat 08/12/15
Intelligent Life on Other Planets thumbnail Intelligent Life on Other Planets Is there anyone there; does anyone care out there? 08/10/15
Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: thumbnail Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: Elizabeth and Rosa 08/03/15
The Pied Piper of Hamelin thumbnail The Pied Piper of Hamelin A Strange Tale 07/31/15
What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, thumbnail What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, Which I Finally Fully Understand 07/10/15
Alan Seeger thumbnail Alan Seeger And His Dance with Death 07/04/15
What I Learned About Life... thumbnail What I Learned About Life... From Facing Down the Dragon 06/29/15
Wading Through the Water of Life thumbnail Wading Through the Water of Life Advice by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 06/24/15
Career Opportunity... thumbnail Career Opportunity... Being a Gladiator 06/19/15
The Benefit of Problems thumbnail The Benefit of Problems Or the Only Means to Success 06/08/15
Cancer and Crabs thumbnail Cancer and Crabs Strange History that They Both Share 06/05/15
Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death thumbnail Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death Parallels Our Dances with Death 06/03/15
Slaughterhouse-Five thumbnail Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut's Dance with Death 06/01/15
thumbnail Dancing with Death Allows You to Live 05/22/15
It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... thumbnail It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... And Cracked My Head 05/18/15
The Puzzle of Life Solved By... thumbnail The Puzzle of Life Solved By... Jack and Owen 05/15/15
Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens thumbnail Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens How to Avoid the Ghosts 05/08/15
It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. thumbnail It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. Choose Wisely 05/04/15
Nepal Then thumbnail Nepal Then And Now 05/03/15
We Get Old Too Soon... thumbnail "We Get Old Too Soon... And Wise Too Late" 04/27/15
Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today thumbnail Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today How Has America Changed? 04/26/15
Fertilizing Daffodils thumbnail Fertilizing Daffodils But in the Meantime.... 04/24/15
How Do We Learn? thumbnail How Do We Learn? The Lessons in Learning 04/13/15
Two Crazy Captains Chasing Moby Dick thumbnail Two Crazy Captains Chasing Moby Dick Then and Now 04/03/15
Ode to Joy thumbnail Ode to Joy In the Midst of Pain 03/27/15
Lead Death as You Dance with Death thumbnail Lead Death as You Dance with Death It Will Change Your Life 03/24/15
Reliving Many Bloody Sundays thumbnail Reliving Many Bloody Sundays Rebirth of the Civil Rights Movement 03/07/15
All Mankind is Divided Into Three Classes... thumbnail "All Mankind is Divided Into Three Classes..." Some Aren't Buried Until They Are Seventy-five 02/23/15
Obama's Golden Opportunity thumbnail Obama's Golden Opportunity On Leaving a Legacy 02/13/15
Suffering Yields Success thumbnail Suffering Yields Success Worrying Yields Warts 01/14/14
Every child is an artist. thumbnail "Every Child is an Artist." The Question is What Remains in Adulthood? 01/12/15
Ozone to Ferguson thumbnail Ozone to Ferguson A Journey That Never Seems To End 01/05/15
It Was the Best of Times thumbnail It Was the Best of Times It Was the Worst of Times.... 01/01/15
A Hand Is Put Into Theirs... thumbnail A Hand Is Put Into Theirs... And the Hand May Be a Little Child's 12/29/14
Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream thumbnail Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream The Disconnect Between Dreaming and Reality 12/26/14
What Einstein Taught Me About Riding a Bike thumbnail What Einstein Taught Me About Riding a Bike ...Keep Moving 12/22/14
Joe Hill Died November 19, 1915 thumbnail Joe Hill Died November 19, 1915 "I Never Died," Says He. 11/19/14
Death is the Best Invention of Life thumbnail Death is the Best Invention of Life Breathing Is Not Living 11/14/14
From Witches to Marrying Monkeys thumbnail From Witches to Marrying Monkeys Conservatives Have an Answer 11/10/14
To Thine Own Self Be True thumbnail To Thine Own Self Be True... An Ethical First Step 10/24/14
A Lesson of Life from Alexander the Great thumbnail A Lesson of Life from Alexander the Great "Each moment free from fear makes a man immortal." 10/17/14
My Dots in Life Get Connected thumbnail My Dots in Life Get Connected With the Singing of Pete Seeger 10/06/14
Nothing is Secure thumbnail Nothing is Secure Which is a Great Blessing 10/03/14
Christopher Robin is Correct... thumbnail Christopher Robin is Correct... However, You Must Believe It Before It Is. 09/29/14
Wolverton Mountain thumbnail Wolverton Mountain The Place Where Dreams Occur 09/26/14
Pushing Oneself... thumbnail Pushing Oneself... What I Learned from T. S. Eliot 09/14/14
Articles as a Living Legacy... thumbnail Articles as a Living Legacy... Why I Write 09/12/14
Darkest Before Dawn thumbnail Darkest Before Dawn A Logical Disconnect that Is True 08/15/14
Come Alive... thumbnail Come Alive... Before You Die. 07/24/14
Orwell and Scottish Independence thumbnail Orwell and Scottish Independence Or Smell the Heather and Vote for Independence 07/18/14
Burma-Shave... thumbnail Burma-Shave... And Seeing the Light 07/07/14
The Chilling Reality of Global Warming thumbnail The Chilling Reality of Global Warming Where Does Lying Get Politicians and the Rest of Us? 06/28/14
Connecting the Dots... thumbnail Connecting the Dots... For Scottish Independence 06/24/14
Moravec Evolution thumbnail Moravec Evolution or the 21st Century Scopes Trial 06/21/14
Old Men Should Plant Trees... thumbnail Old Men Should Plant Trees... And They Should Be Planted Now. 06/16/14
Connecting the Dots With Jack and Owen thumbnail Connecting the Dots With Jack and Owen Teaching Them To Be Steve Jobs-esque 06/14/14
Changing the World... thumbnail Changing the World... The Story of My Struggle 06/10/14
Jack and Owen thumbnail Jack and Owen Novice 21st Century Johnny Appleseeds 06/01/14
Leaving a Legacy... thumbnail Leaving a Legacy... A Concern of a 71-Year Old. 05/18/14
Orwell and Kipling and the Battle of Burma thumbnail Orwell and Kipling and the Battle of Burma Or Why I Care 05/12/14
Learning to Play Chess from a Master thumbnail Learning to Play Chess from a Master What Jack and Owen Will Learn from Me. 05/02/14
Faulkner's Lesson of Life... thumbnail Faulkner's Lesson of Life... Even When the Last Ding-dong of Doom has Clanged. 04/17/14
Connecting the Dots... thumbnail Connecting the Dots... On Your Way to Eldorado 09/09/12