Dancing with Death

Dancing with Death

Dancing with Death

Having taught the humanities for years, I am keenly aware of the topic of dancing with death or what the French call La Danse Macabre. Looking back on the mid-14th century, Europe lost 100-200 million people due to the pandemic known as the Black Death. From 1346-53, the Black Death killed half the population of Europe because of the fleas of Oriental rats.

The art world from the 14th century and for many years later reflected upon Europe's dance with death. Artists like Pieter Brueghel, Hans Holbein, Albrecht Dürer, and many others have explored that topic.

Pieter Brueghel, The Triumph of Death</span>.

Pieter Brueghel, The Triumph of Death.

The Black Death influenced writing also. This is John Donne's reflection upon the dance with death.

No Man is an Island
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were: any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

While Europeans realized their finiteness, each of us in our own lives will also face that reality. In 2008, I danced with death twice. Fortunately, I was able to lead death while dancing on both occasions. My dances were due to a traumatic brain injury from a fall and prostate cancer. In retrospect, they were both blessings. My perspective upon life is radically different from what it was prior to those two dances. I am driven to be productive in life. It has motivated me to do more for my family and friends. However, I want to leave a legacy to those beyond them. I have traveled extensively in the States and overseas. Many people need assistance both here and abroad. I realize that I will not always be able to lead death while dancing in the future. Carpe Diem informs my activity in life.

We all need to work at making our world a better place for all to live, because we will all ultimately dance with death. Our time is limited, as Professor Keating said, before we all will "fertilize daffodils."


Legends Often Morph into Facts My Thoughts About GiGi’s Passing Deal with Others as She Dealt with Us
Legends Often Morph into Facts Healthcare in America A Line Between Murder and Doing Business
I Have Finally Seen the Light I Have Finally Seen the Light My Third Dance
It’s Med Time It’s Med Time-- A Follow-up to Sauna Time
It’s Sauna Time It’s Sauna Time If You Want To Enjoy Life
It's a Long, Long Road It's a Long, Long Road From Which There is No Return
Who is the Headless Horseman? Who is the Headless Horseman? But First, the Background
Happy Birthday Ginger Happy Birthday Ginger She Turned Eight Today
What’s With the Water? What’s With the Water? Water, Water, Everywhere
Professor Keating and I Professor Keating and I We Both Took Mrs. Davis’s English Class
Creating Fortress America Creating Fortress America Thoughts of Vulgar Vance
Legends Often Morph into Facts Becoming a Monkey King It's More Than Mere Monkey Business
Ginger Has Done the Dance Ginger Has Done the Dance We Are Bonded as Dancers
Trump as Savior Trump as Savior Let Me Hear a Halleluiah
Legends Often Morph into Facts Lessons Learned in Former British Colonies Like America, South Africa, and Myanmar
The Third Old Man The Third Old Man Or Three Coins in the Fountain of Life
A Story of Two Old Men A Story of Two Old Men And How They Will Be Remembered
If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something Sometimes I Disobey
It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again With the Father and Son
How Will We Be Remembered How Will We Be Remembered Another Either / Or Essay
Another Funny Thing Happened Another Funny Thing Happened At My Barber Shop
A Funny Thing Happened A Funny Thing Happened At My Doctor’s Office
I’m Leading Death Again I’m Leading Death Again On My Dancefloor of Life
What’s It All About, Alfie What’s It All About, Alfie According to Longfellow
I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance He Acted Like It
Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Each of Us Twice
Legends Often Morph into Facts How Much Land Does a Man Need? An Edited Tolstoy
What’s with Bohemian Rhapsody What’s with Bohemian Rhapsody And Our Takeaway
The Flying Dutchman The Flying Dutchman Then and Now
Repeating Bad History Repeating Bad History Creates Newer Bad History
Legends Often Morph into Facts Bush’s Bus Ride Leadership or Roadkills
Ginger Trains Her Owner Ginger Trains Her Owner And I’m Obedient
Standing on the Hill Standing on the Hill Our Human Destiny
Legends Often Morph into Facts Träumerei Then and Now
Legends Often Morph into Facts It’s Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away
Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Keeping Her Happy and Healthy
Legends Often Morph into Facts Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again 50th Mass Shootings in America This Year
Citizen Kane and Citizen Trump Citizen Kane and Citizen Trump Live in Xanadu
The Past is a Precursor The Past is a Precursor To the Future
My Hill of Beans Paradox My Hill of Beans Paradox Created by the James Webb Space Telescope
My Birthday My Birthday And the Age of Aquarius
My Third Dance with Death My Third Dance with Death And Its Effect
Legends Often Morph into Facts It Was To Be a Short Phone Call But It Wasn’t
What’s It All About... What’s It All About... The Paradox of Life
I’m Going to be an Astrophysicist... I’m Going to be an Astrophysicist... In My Next Life.
Why Write? Why Write? Answers from Vonnegut and Faulkner
My Yin Yang World My Yin Yang World Dreams vs. Reality
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Gift to Dr. Derrè Ginger Stated, “Dr. Derrè’s My Vet”
What Would T.E. Lawrence Do What Would T.E. Lawrence Do In Gaza and Israel?
The Evolution of Thanksgiving The Evolution of Thanksgiving A Long and Winding Road
A Future Thanksgiving A Future Thanksgiving Far, Far Away
Legends Often Morph into Facts On the Road Again Ginger, the Pooh Dog, and Me
Legends Often Morph into Facts If I Were Q I’d Tell the Whole Story of the Téméraire
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night A Lesson Taught by Dylan Thomas
Ginger’s 7th Birthday Ginger’s 7th Birthday What’s Life All About, Alfie?
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Check-Up Again, at Purdue Veterinary Hospital
My World of Xanadu My World of Xanadu Another Personal Parallel Essay
Tyson’s Two Thoughts Tyson’s Two Thoughts Regarding AI and a Ticking Clock
The Importance of Happenstance The Importance of Happenstance For Heavenly Clauses
Jumping Hoops for a Prescription Jumping Hoops for a Prescription Raises Ethical Issues at Various Levels
Another Dance for Ginger Another Dance for Ginger Learn and Live in the Moment
Thomas and Trump Thomas and Trump The Teacher and Student
Haunting Photos Haunting Photos Then and Now
Oppie and Me Oppie and Me The Similarities are Striking
Returning To the Past Returning To the Past: Example One
Ginger and Poisoning Ginger and Poisoning A Sequel
Ginger and I Ginger and I Our Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road
Music Explains Me Music Explains Me Music Drives Me
Learning from Lao Tzu Learning from Lao Tzu To Live Life Daringly
The Importance of Footprints The Importance of Footprints But the Question is When
What’s It All About Alfie? What’s It All About Alfie? From an Eighty-Year Old Alfie
My Quest for Eldorado My Quest for Eldorado In Three Parts
What Drove My Father and Drives Me? What Drove My Father and Drives Me? Pain
It’s All About We It’s All About We An Important Lesson of Life
Be Careful Whom You Choose as a Mentor Be Careful Whom You Choose as a Mentor Hatanaka or Scrooge
Only This and Nothing More “Only This and Nothing More” Quote the Raven
I Wish that I Had Asked My Father I Wish that I Had Asked My Father About WWII
I Could Hear the Silence I Could Hear the Silence While I Raged
My Way My Way Morphing to My Mentoring
My Twilight Hauntings... My Twilight Hauntings... About Immortality
A Swan Song A Swan Song Then and Now
Conspiracy Theory Nonsense... Conspiracy Theory Nonsense... Except For One
Ginger is Now Six Ginger is Now Six As We Do the Dance
Growing Up Without Transparency Growing Up Without Transparency And Finally Discovering It
A King Cobra Pitted Against a Python A Teaching Moment
Narcissus of the Past And Narcissus of the Present
Trilogy of Diseases How Are You Going to Address the Trilogy?
An Important Teaching Moment Joe and I Are Twins
I Was Under the Knife For Nearly Five Minutes
Learning from the Japanese About What We Don’t Know
Doing the Dance on Steroids And Promises to Keep
Miah Is the 21st Century Eppie A Hand Is Put Into Theirs….
The Battle of the Alamo… Past, Present, and Future
My Commencement Address... To the World
Grasping Reality While My Clock Is Ticking
The Oligarch Above All Oligarchs Czar Putin
I Have Miles to Go Before I Sleep
When Choosing Mentors… Think
Seeing the Future At Least Three Times
My Family in Myanmar: A Sequel to What’s It All About
The Problem with Yes-Men Who Say Yes All the Time
Children and War Ukraine and Myanmar
What We Can Learn from Yapping Dogs And Yapping Leaders
My Great-Granddaughter A Younger Version of My Granddaughters
A Tale of Two Leaders: Address Their Rivals
Unintended Consequences From Easter Island
If Everything Around You Seems Dark… Look Again. You May Be the Light.
Putin’s Legacy Gilgamesh’s Lesson
History Is Repetitious Then and Now
Kiev Then and Now
When I Become a Billionaire… A Jaguar SUV Will Be in My Garage
Two Countries Living in One World
My Dreamland During My Operation
A Cancer, Too, Took Root But the Backstory Is More Important
Young Frankenstein And Her Treatment Plan
Christmas: Past, Present, and Future
There Is More To Life… Than Paddling Around and Accomplishing Nothing
I Love My Family With Some Caveats
Waking Up… To Getting Old
Ginger and I In Our Recovery Modes
Ginger and the Mask and Shot Mandates A Canine Teaching Moment
Happy Birthday, Ginger I Wish You Many More with Your Blue Dolphin
A Dream Delayed Or a Dream Dashed
My Takeaway From the Great Chicago Fire
What Ginger’s Dances Taught Me Despite My Dances
A Ngal Lay Sent Me Pictures and a Video About Our Time Together
Revisiting Gilgamesh A Teaching Moment
My Great-Granddaughter… A Ngal Lay
When I Become President of the World… Things Are Going to Change
The Pros and Cons… Of Replicating Our Parents
“I’m Doing the Dance” The Title of Ti Ti’s Poem
Snow’s Poem About Her New Normal
Realizing the New Normal What’s All About, Alfie?
What Once Was But Isn’t Now In Camelot
There Is a Message in the Mask Listen To the Medical Professionals or Get Sick
The Eternal Question The Harvest or the Seeds
What Can We Learn from Art? The Answer Is….
Gandhi’s Tribute to Moh Moh For Her Indomitable Will
It Is Time To Write Poetry Another Teaching Event
It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again For Ginger and Me
Sir Gawain, the Knight Doing What a Knight Does
Ginger Doing the Dance And An Important Takeaway
Disinformation Is Deadly So, Why Lie to America?
How To Achieve Being Venerated, Wise, and Great In Two Steps
Poets Both Past and Present Amanda Gorman and Sarah Kay
Resurrection I’m Alive Along with My Computer, and Ginger
I Created an Artistic Masterpiece… For Ginger
If They See the Goblin… They Might Also See Planet X.
More Apologies Expressed To My Physicians
One More Comment For Ti Ti As She Journeys Down Her Yellow Brick Road
The Little One, A Part of My Family
Ti Ti is Sweet Seventeen Happy Birthday
Memorial Day 2021 It Is in Giving that We Get
Reincarnation of Ra-Ra… Reincarnation of Ra-Ra…
Three Take-Aways From Denzel Washington’s Commencement Address
He Is My Brother On This Pale Blue Dot
Problems Offer a Choice Either a Cul-de-sac or a Challenge
A Funny Thing Happened While on Zoom My Fourth La Danse Macabre
Learning from Collecting Written by a Collector of Treasures
Are You Looking for a Mentor? This is My Advice
What’s It All About Aldie My Haunting Question
t’s All About Being RememberedChoose Wisely
We Over Me… Or Me Over We
Getting My Second COVID Shot… And Immortality
What Makes Me Tick and Teach? No Pain, No Gain
The Pandas and My PoohAnd Other Followers of Gilgamesh
Purposeful LivesOn Steroids
A Christmas Carol in 2020…It Is in Giving that We Get
When Opportunity KnocksCarpe Diem
Achilles’ HeelThen and Now
Your Meaning of Being…What Is It?
A Modafinil Moment…Revisited
Discerning the TruthA Means to Live Life
It Was Four Years AgoAnd What a Difference Four Years Makes
Ginger’s Birthday BashI Hope That She Has Many More
We Are Both Dancers…Ginger and I
The Importance of the Sound of Music…According to Nietzsche and Me
Bunker Time A Prediction
Amazing Grace Or More of the Same Insanity
My Two Worlds…Affect My Life
This Is an AddendumTi Ti, the Bridge Builder
From Then to NowWhat a Difference Seven Years Has Made
Importance of Human SacrificePast and Present
Dealing with RealityIn the Human and Canine World
Two PoemsBy Two Ladies
I Live in Two Worlds:One in the States and One in Myanmar
Coming Home to RoostKierkegaard, Mt. Lebanon, Dancing, and My Family
Focusing My Stream of ConsciousnessBy Watching a Movie
Let Me Get This Straight…About the Trump Flu
Egoism vs AltruismThere is a Better Way
Ginger and I Have Done the DanceAnd Are Alive
Reflections on My Journey Down the Yellow Brick RoadOur Clocks Are Ticking
Ti Ti’s Spin on My WeltanschauungAnd Mine on Hers
The Use of DrugsDonnie, Aldie, and Dr. Goodspeed
A New Memorial DayDue to the COVID-19
The Thoughts of a DoctorA Teaching Opportunity
It Is All About FamilyAnd Who Makes Up Our Family
Our Reason for BeingDiscover It
Thinking Outside the Box of COVID-19And How You Will Benefit
The World is Dancing…Dancing with Death
The Week That WasDance on with Determination
“I Could Stand in the Middle of Fifth Avenue….”You Are Standing on Main Streets in America and Shooting
The Brighter Side of LifeSomewhat Brighter
Understanding Life as We Live ItSonata Pathétique
Another Miracle Drug…Maybe
Another Teaching MomentAbout Times Past
Regarding Dancing with CoronavirusCampbell’s Five Commandments
Let’s Make a DealThanks to Modafinil
The Cave vs Reality...That is the Question.
A Teaching MomentFor Today and the Future
Trump’s NemesisPresident Obama
I Don’t Like FailingModus Operandi
Think Before You ActThen Dare Greatly
Circle of LifeDance On
Angry Old MenThere is an Alternative
Seeing Yourself as Others See You…Which is More Clearly
GingerPart 3 of a 4 Part Series
KaylaDog Whisperer
The Teak BridgePart 2 of a 4 Parts Series
Perspective What You See Is What You Get.
It All Boils Down to Legacy What Will You Leave This World?
A Battle Between Orwell and Kipling… In 2019
Plagiarism Sharpie-Gate
What Fascinates Me About Ginger In Our Time Together
My Wonder Drug Modafinil
Thoughts About Willie Nelson’s Song…. On the Road Again
Learning Important Lessons About Life… From a U-2 Pilot
Lili Marleen A Musical Journey to Reality
Ginger’s Vet My Shrink
The Dog Days of Summer Without Air Conditioning
More Music More Defining
Another Déjà Vu In the Arts and Philosophy
Cowards Die Many Times Before Their Death... In Rome and In Washington.
My Dear Pooh Dog and Me The Bonding
The Moving Finger Writes And the Writings Haunt Me
Ti Ti and Oscar Wilde’s Advice No Excuses and No Regrets
Lord of the Dance From Three Perspectives
Coffin Bridge… Build What You Need
Vocation of An Old Man… Being a Bridge Builder
I Will Rage, Rage… On Behalf of 1250 Students and One Celestial Comet
Dealing with the Reaper By Coming Alive and Living
Dreaming…. About My Moment in Time
Going Belly-Up Whales and People
One Moment in Time Carpe Diem
Before Trump’s America And After Trump’s America
NiC and Narcissus There Is a Better Alternative.
Inferiority Complex Womb Envy vs. Penis Envy
Warren Buffett Don’t Sleep Walk Through Life
I Made a Mistake… Imagine That
This Essay Addresses Alfie What’s It All About?
The Two Draculas The Man and the Ant
A New Year’s Eve With a New Resolution for the Coming Year
What Drives Me… My Himalayan Salt Lamps
Captain Ahab and His Incarnation In Donald the Dumb
Way Back Home… In America and Myanmar
I Celebrate Two Thanksgiving Days… And This Is Why
"Look at Me I Am Old but I’m Happy"
Serendipitous Moments in My Life And They Are Haunting Me
Keep Calm And Things Seem to Work Out
On Making Your Mark And Leaving It
Bette Davis Eyes… But They Are in Myanmar
Ginger’s Vet… My Psychiatrist
A Journey of a Thousand Miles… Started in a Living Rooms
Rhythm of My Heart Here and Abroad
Being a Young Turk… During the 20th Century
Ginger and Me Just the Two of Us
McCain’s Life and Death The Life and Times of a Great American
Stumbling into the Truth… Related to Forever Young
The Pearl of Death Or the Lesson of Life
Remembering a Brief Moment in Camelot Which Was Lost in Time
A Strange Third Dance.... Indeed.
Deep State Bob Woodward and Me
The Meaning of Being Or Why Am I Here?
Snow, the Virtuoso Träumerei and The Great Gate of Kiev
If I fail, If I Fail… I Will While Daring Greatly
Possible Explanations of Death Possible Explanations of Death A Personal Apocalypse
Ti Ti, Snow, and Fatty Having Fun Without PaPa Al
Pa Lian Pa Lian Burmese Restaurant A Place Where I Learned a History Lesson
Jack and Owen Stephen Hawking Left Us a Great Deal We Need To Follow Our Science Professor
explaining the dance Clarity About Dancing Being Arthur Murray in the Real World
explaining the dance Explaining Doing the Dance… Man, the Lights Are Bright
10 Years And Counting Ten Years and Counting What a Difference a Dance Makes
Ginger Is One And Half Ginger is One and a Half Years Old… But What an Eighteen Months
Henny Pennny Henny Penny Cries Out… “The Sky Is Falling.”
wrinkle in time A Wrinkle in Time Thinking Outside the Box
marner-me thumbnail Marner and Eppie Me and the Girls
heart-part thumbnail My Heart Issues—Part II The One That’s Pumping Blood
gifts-given thumbnail Gifts Given But Never Received
lecture-harvard thumbnail I Want to Have My Last Lecture at Harvard On March 9, 2043
question thumbnail The Question Is… How Will You Be Remembered?
attempt-to-do thumbnail What Would You Attempt To Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?
age-revolution  thumbnail An Age of Revolution If We But Know What To Do With It
having-purpose  thumbnail Having a Purpose Carpe Diem
water-horse thumbnail The Water Horse of Loch Ness And Our Water Horses of Life
i-failed thumbnail I Failed For the Time Being
lesson-dreaming thumbnail Lesson Learned About Dreaming I Learned from Bobby
best-week thumbnail The Best Week of My Life… Occurred While I Was in Burma
basil-rathbone thumbnail Basil Rathbone, the Actor But Much More
Scarlet Claw  thumbnail The Scarlet Claw A Date Night Movie
Death Dance thumbnail Doing the Dance... Fathoming the Unfathomable
Femme Fatale thumbnail The Life and Times of a Femme Fatale Mata Hari
Picking Mentors thumbnail On Picking Mentors Pick Carefully
Big Fib thumbnail The Big Fib: "I'm, like, a really smart person."
Why Ginger thumbnail Why Ginger? The Hauntings of My Pooh Dog
-->
Edmund Fitzgerald thumbnail The Haunting of the Edmund Fitzgerald Doomed Before Setting Sail
Tattoo of Pooh thumbnail The Tattoo of My Pooh and Me Ginger and Don Quixote
The Reason thumbnail The Reason Behind... Everything
Live In The Moment  thumbnail Live in the Moment... Plan for the Future
Ashley and Michael  thumbnail What I Owe Ashley and Michael Wall Removal
Lawrence of Arabia  thumbnail Lawrence of Arabia One of My Mentors
Jade Suit thumbnail Jade Suit... Then Roll Me Up When I Die.
Ti Ti thumbnail Ti Ti A Reason for Being
Ginger and I thumbnail Ginger and I Promises To Keep and Miles To Go Before We Sleep
Mr. Lee thumbnail Mr. Lee and Mr. Rotteveel Two Stories: About When I Was Young and When I Am Old
Double Axe  thumbnail The Double-Axe A Symbol of My Identity
I'm On the Road Again thumbnail I’m On the Road Again But Why?
The Issue of Kissing thumbnail Ginger And the Issue of Kissing
Essay with No Words thumbnail Essay with No Words But Look At My Eyes
Me and My Shrink thumbnail Me and My Shrink Dealing With What Drives Me
Ti Ti Poem thumbnail Ti Ti and I A Most Haunting Relationship
Indianapolis Atomic Bomb   thumbnail USS Indianapolis and Connecting the Dots Quint, Jack, and Owen
Trinity Oppenheimer thumbnail Oppie The Scientist and the Philosopher
Dump Me Off thumbnail Just Drop Me Off And Ginger’s Toy Dog
Rage Rage  thumbnail Rage, Rage... Against the Pissing Pug
Henry and Becket thumbnail Henry II and Thomas Becket Then and Now
Burma Road thumbnail What Did I Learn... From Vinegar Joe
Frobisher's Quests thumbnail Frobisher’s Quests The Northwest Passage and Gold
Haunting of Hachi  thumbnail The Hauntings of Hachikō and Bobby… And the Haunting of My Gingers
Bridge Builders thumbnail Bridge Builder or Wall Builder A Clear Choice for Donald the Dumb
Brown vs Board thumbnail Brown vs Board of Education... A Time to Reflect
I'm Not Going Silently  thumbnail Do Not Going Gently Into That Good Night I Will Rage
To Become thumbnail To Become… What You Might Have Been
Getting It Together thumbnail Getting It Together… An Avenue to Acquiring Dreams
The Meaning of Life thumbnail The Meaning of Life It Is All About Fighting the Good Fight for Others
Bowl of Cherries thumbnail Life Is a Bowl of Cherries Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
Chick Magnet  thumbnail Chick Magnet And the Hauntings
The Hauntings thumbnail The Hauntings About Bobby and the Gingers
On Riding to Samara thumbnail On Riding to Samara Then and Now....
Invictus thumbnail Invictus Thank You, Mrs. Davis
A Dog's Purpose thumbnail A Dog's Purpose The Person's Purpose
Robert the Bruce  thumbnail Robert the Bruce I'll Drink to Him!
Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand...  thumbnail Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... And Ginger
Ginger, Socks, and Poe thumbnail Ginger, Socks, and Poe Finding Lenore....
The Meaning of Ginger thumbnail The Meaning of Ginger The Winter Solstice
How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday?  thumbnail How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? Answer: Ikigai
We Don't Have a Democracy...  thumbnail We Don't Have a Democracy... Yet Either
A Lesson of Life thumbnail A Lesson of Life Learned from a Cockroach
Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady  thumbnail Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady It Is All About Determination
FLASH!!! thumbnail FLASH!!! We Have More Time This Year.
I'm Hanging My Lantern  thumbnail I'm Hanging My Lantern For All To See
Accomplishing Things in Life...  thumbnail Accomplishing Things in Life... Even Long Shots
Mentor Tell You Something About You  thumbnail Mentor Tell You Something About You The Value of Post-it Notes
Moh Moh's Email  thumbnail Moh Moh's Email Big Dreams Never Run Smooth
Live While Dying thumbnail Live While Dying Rather Than Die While Living
Deplorable...  thumbnail Deplorable... Defining the Definition
Roll Me Up thumbnail Roll Me Up I Am Free to be Me at 73
Tom Brokaw... thumbnail Tom Brokaw... Another Dancer
The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan  thumbnail The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan Triangulation Process
On the Road Again... thumbnail On the Road Again... Like a Gypsy
The Lady thumbnail The Lady And the Peacock
Dostoyevsky Danced with Death thumbnail Dostoyevsky Danced with Death As a Result, Became a Great Writer.
The Value of Grandchildren thumbnail The Value of Grandchildren Links to the Past and Future
Teach Your Children... thumbnail Teach Your Children... To Dream
Resurrecting Dashed Dreams thumbnail Resurrecting Dashed Dreams By Continuing to Dream
A Bridge Too Far thumbnail A Bridge Too Far Isn't Always the Case
Death Teaches thumbnail Death Teaches While You Dance
What a Difference a Few Years Makes thumbnail What a Difference a Few Years Makes If You Are Joisting with Windmills
Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail thumbnail Himmler and His Quest for the Holy Grail Remember the Past
Dealing with Impossible Dreams Realistically... thumbnail Dealing with Impossible Dreams Realistically... Or Getting All My Ducks Lined Up
GiGi's Psychoanalysis thumbnail GiGi's Psychoanalysis Me and My Hauntings
The Fighting Téméraire thumbnail The Fighting Téméraire Explained My Nostalgia to Me
The Donald as the Dark Knight thumbnail The Donald as the Dark Knight He Ain't Don Quixote
Why Do I Care? thumbnail Why Do I Care? More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care?
Confucius Say thumbnail Confucius Say, "Petty Man Understands Profit"
 thumbnail Return to Myanmar Dream Big
Rediscovering the Past... thumbnail Rediscovering the Past... Eleanor Roosevelt
The Meaning Behind the Man thumbnail The Meaning Behind the Man The Man of La Mancha
Trying and Failing... thumbnail Trying and Failing... Is Better than Failing without Trying
The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's thumbnail The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's Warren Buffett's 10 Ways to Get Rich
Listening to My Mentors thumbnail Listening to My Mentors And Dreaming Impossible Dreams
The Terrorism Trifecta thumbnail The Terrorism Trifecta Three More Dances with Death
The Kiss thumbnail The Kiss From Life to Death
We Must Address Conservativism...  thumbnail We Must Address Conservativism... For Two Essential Reasons
The Value of Giving Gifts... thumbnail The Value of Giving Gifts... To Young Children
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us.
My Love Letters thumbnail My Love Letters They Must Be Written
We Shall Overcome thumbnail We Shall Overcome A Belief Amid Darkness
Last Words thumbnail Last Words Or Don Quixote's Joists with Windmills
Talking to a Tree thumbnail Talking to a Tree Growing in a Silo
Bloody Hands and No Backbone thumbnail Bloody Hands and No Backbone What a Legacy
The Angel Spoke... thumbnail The Angel Spoke... And I Listened.
The Thinkers Three thumbnail The Thinkers Three Jack, Owen, and Me
The Advice of Master Kong  thumbnail The Advice of Master Kong Enjoy Life by Not Working
Morphing of the Flu with Polio thumbnail Morphing of the Flu with Polio A Strange Juxtaposition
The Third Dance thumbnail The Third Dance Apparently Was a Misstep
The Relationship Between Death and Life thumbnail The Relationship Between Death and Life Death Can Cause Us to Live Life
I am Don Quixote thumbnail I am Don Quixote But I Am Not from La Mancha
 thumbnail Maude Adams Found Somewhere in Time
In My Life thumbnail In My Life I'll Never Lose Affection for People and Things
Christopher Reeve thumbnail Christopher Reeve Another Dancer Who Could Also Fly
Worthless Windmills thumbnail Worthless Windmills Time Will Tell Their Worth
Learning from My Mentor thumbnail Learning from My Mentor A Knight-Errant On His Deathbed
I Want to Have Dinner for Two  thumbnail I Want to Have Dinner for Two A Date and Someone Who Has Done the Dance
Einstein's Other Theory thumbnail Einstein's Other Theory From a Genius
Could I Have This Dance... thumbnail Could I Have This Dance... For the Rest of My Life?
What Drives Me? thumbnail What Drives Me? And the Answer Is....
On Seeing the Light thumbnail On Seeing the Light Chuck, Paul, and Me
Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave thumbnail Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave For Their Assistance
My Casablanca Party thumbnail My Casablanca Party Morphed Into My La Mancha Party
Two Roads in the Wood thumbnail Two Roads in the Wood Choose Wisely
The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper thumbnail The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper Follow Randy Pausch's Example
Grave or No Grave thumbnail Grave or No Grave That is the Question
Best of Times, Worst of Times thumbnail Best of Times, Worst of Times It Is Your Choice; Choose Wisely
I Am Looking for Another Dancer thumbnail I Am Looking for Another Dancer The Ultimate Partner
Buddha's Strange Parable... thumbnail Buddha's Strange Parable... Which We Need to Understand
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming About My List of Dulcineas
The Third Dance... thumbnail The Third Dance... Maybe or Maybe Not
Somewhere in Time thumbnail Somewhere in Time The Importance of Memories
The Drinkable Book thumbnail The Drinkable Book I Wish I Had One While in Indochina
Another Dancer thumbnail Another Dancer David Hume
Revitalizing My Brain thumbnail Revitalizing My Brain After Winding Up in ICU
Dreams will come to you....  thumbnail Dreams will come to you.... If You Are True to Your Quest
A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination thumbnail A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination Don't Miss Your Destiny
Miguel Cervantes thumbnail Miguel Cervantes As Don Quixote
"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun." Randy Pausch is Correct
The Little Match Girl thumbnail The Little Match Girl And The Golden Statue
The Very Strange Year of 2008 thumbnail The Very Strange Year of 2008 A Year to Remember
The Gift of an Angel thumbnail The Gift of an Angel It is More About My Feelings
New Year thumbnail New Year New Booty
Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow thumbnail Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow One of the Saints
Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me thumbnail Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me To Get Off My Arse
Going to Hell in a Handbasket thumbnail Going to Hell in a Handbasket And the Tibetan Mask
Doing the Dance Again thumbnail Doing the Dance Again How to Address Both New Dances
 I Know Who I Am... thumbnail I Know Who I Am... And Have Found Two People Who Understand Me
Take Your Passion and Make It Happen thumbnail Take Your Passion and Make It Happen Flashdance Follow-up
Responses to Paris thumbnail Responses to Paris Both Are Vital
What a Feeling thumbnail What a Feeling And It Is a Great Feeling
Pandora Provides Hope... thumbnail Pandora Provides Hope... Don Quixote Provides Determination
Don Quixote thumbnail Don Quixote Then and Now
Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... thumbnail Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... And He Knows Life Well Also
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True
The Old Pine Table thumbnail The Old Pine Table An Object of Renewal and Rebirth
It's Confession Time... thumbnail It's Confession Time... And It Isn't Sunday
The Mahogany Bench thumbnail The Mahogany Bench A Place for Dreaming....
The Right to Live thumbnail The Right to Live And the Right to Die
Squirt's Observations of Her Papa thumbnail Squirt's Observations of Her Papa A Modern Day Eppie's Reflection
The Little Wooden Box thumbnail The Little Wooden Box An Updated Pandora's Box
Collecting Coins thumbnail Collecting Coins A Tradition Continues
A Great Dancer with Death thumbnail A Great Dancer with Death A Sobering Experience
Putting the Pieces Together thumbnail Putting the Pieces Together The Joy of Coming of Age
The Tulip Pitcher thumbnail The Tulip Pitcher A Picture of Springtime
The Felt Picture thumbnail The Felt Picture A Picture of Hopefulness
A Second Look at Life thumbnail A Second Look at Life Toward the End of Life
From Whence Does the Spark Come? thumbnail From Whence Does the Spark Come? The Creative Act of Pondering
The Value of Pain thumbnail The Value of Pain Or How to Retrieve the Torpedo
A Man with a Mission... thumbnail A Man with a Mission... Sinking a German U-boat
Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: thumbnail Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: Elizabeth and Rosa
The Pied Piper of Hamelin thumbnail The Pied Piper of Hamelin A Strange Tale
Dinner with GiGi thumbnail Dinner with GiGi The Socratic Method of an Older Woman
What Makes Me Tick thumbnail What Makes Me Tick Finally, an Explanation
What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, thumbnail What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, Which I Finally Fully Understand
Alan Seeger thumbnail Alan Seeger And His Dance with Death
What I Learned About Life... thumbnail What I Learned About Life... From Facing Down the Dragon
Wading Through the Water of Life thumbnail Wading Through the Water of Life Advice by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Lincoln Danced with Death thumbnail Lincoln Danced with Death ...and Continued on with Life.
The Benefit of Problems thumbnail The Benefit of Problems Or the Only Means to Success
Cancer and Crabs thumbnail Cancer and Crabs Strange History that They Both Share
Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death thumbnail Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death Parallels Our Dances with Death
Slaughterhouse-Five thumbnail Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut's Dance with Death
 thumbnail Dancing with Death Allows You to Live
It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... thumbnail It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... And Cracked My Head
It Is About How You Lead Your Life thumbnail It Is About How You Lead Your Life Start With Refining Words
Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens thumbnail Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens How to Avoid the Ghosts
It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. thumbnail It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. Choose Wisely
Nepal Then thumbnail Nepal Then And Now
The Value of Writing thumbnail The Value of Writing It Forces You To Remember
We Get Old Too Soon... thumbnail "We Get Old Too Soon... And Wise Too Late"
Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today thumbnail Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today How Has America Changed?
Fertilizing Daffodils thumbnail Fertilizing Daffodils But in the Meantime....
How Do We Learn? thumbnail How Do We Learn? The Lessons in Learning
Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow thumbnail "Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow." "Learn as if You Were to Live Forever."
Lead Death as You Dance with Death thumbnail Lead Death as You Dance with Death It Will Change Your Life
Some People Feel the Rain thumbnail Some People Feel the Rain Others Just Get Wet.
Experience thumbnail Experience Redefining the Word
The Daunting Duality thumbnail The Daunting Duality: Long Life vs. Giving It All Up
My Head Fake thumbnail My Head Fake During My Last Lecture
Graham Kerr and Me thumbnail Graham Kerr and Me On Scottish Delicacies
Looking Back and Remembering thumbnail Looking Back and Remembering Looking Forward and Hoping
It Was the Best of Times thumbnail It Was the Best of Times It Was the Worst of Times....
Death is the Best Invention of Life thumbnail Death is the Best Invention of Life Breathing Is Not Living
Seeing When You Think You See... thumbnail Seeing When You Think You See... The Difference is Dazzling.
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."
Pushing Oneself... thumbnail Pushing Oneself... What I Learned from T. S. Eliot
Articles as a Living Legacy... thumbnail Articles as a Living Legacy... Why I Write
Getting Really Organized... thumbnail Getting Really Organized... Late in Life
First, It Was a Car and then Women thumbnail First, It Was a Car and then Women Jack and the Learning Curve to Adulthood
On Seeing the Light... thumbnail On Seeing the Light... More Clearly
An Interesting Thing Happened to Me thumbnail An Interesting Thing Happened to Me ...On the Road to Mandalay.
What Makes Me Tick? thumbnail What Makes Me Tick? The True Value of Pain
Leaving a Legacy thumbnail Leaving a Legacy A Legacy More Valuable Than Money
Winter Contains Spring... thumbnail Winter Contains Spring... I'm Enjoying the Blessing
Forrester and I in Our Winters thumbnail Forrester and I in Our Winters Seasons Change Young Man...
The Passing of Elmo to a New Generation... thumbnail The Passing of Elmo to a New Generation... Or the Passing of Cookie Monster to a Free Scotland
Do You Have Any Suggestions... thumbnail Do You Have Any Suggestions... On Planning My New Life?
Wondrous World of Why? thumbnail Wondrous World of Why? On Staying Engaged in Life
The Fighting Temeraire thumbnail The Fighting TÉMÉRaire Growing Old and Understanding Art
The End of Time Won't Come on December 21st... thumbnail The End of Time Won't Come on December 21st... Unless My Prediction is Wrong
Reflections on Getting Old thumbnail Reflections on Getting Old... One of the Reasons for My Loving Grandchildren
Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom... thumbnail Acquiring a Heart of Wisdom... Cuddling with Grandchildren
Advice to Jack thumbnail Advice to Jack Having Lived Much of My Life