Darkest Before Dawn

Darkest Before Dawn

Darkest Before Dawn

As I age, I discover much that I missed during my 7-decades. For example, it is difficult to deal with conflicts whether globally, nationally, or locally. I have been a dreamer for much of my life. During the civil rights movement in the 60s, those in the movement all knew that we would change things in America even amid the chaos and killings.

However, I did not connect the dots until now. Saul Alinsky, a radical reformer and community organizer, wrote, "We must believe that it is the darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world. We will see it when we believe it."

I have wandered in darkness. I have danced with death a couple of times in the past several years. However, you and I need to believe and to move forward regardless of the problems that we face. Merely sitting and complaining means that darkness will continue to envelop us.

Others have observed what I discovered late in my life. Confucius said, "It doesn't matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." Sir Isaac Newton said, "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it." Pete Seeger wrote and sang, Quite Early Morning, which sums it all up musically. His song starts with this couplet:

Don't you know it's darkest before the dawn
And it's this thought keeps me moving on...


Darkest Before Dawn thumbnail Darkest Before Dawn A Logical Disconnect that Is True 08/15/14
Legends Often Morph into Facts Healthcare in America A Line Between Murder and Doing Business 12/16/24
Caravaggio Caravaggio Then and Now 12/13/24
A Tale of Two Planets A Tale of Two Planets Earth and Theia 12/09/24
My Woodland Avatar My Woodland Avatar Reflects on America 12/04/24
Charles Fort Charles Fort And His Meme 12/02/24
I Have Finally Seen the Light I Have Finally Seen the Light My Third Dance 11/29/24
Thinking about Thanksgiving Thinking about Thanksgiving More Clearly 11/27/24
It’s Med Time It’s Med Time-- A Follow-up to Sauna Time 11/22/24
What If.... What If.... It's All About My Mantra. 11/13/24
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Then and Now 11/11/24
Amid the Chaos Amid the Chaos A Suggestion about the Next Four Years 11/08/24
It's a Long, Long Road It's a Long, Long Road From Which There is No Return 11/04/24
Who is the Headless Horseman? Who is the Headless Horseman? But First, the Background 11/01/24
A Saint and a Sinner A Saint and a Sinner Michelle Obama and Lev Parnas 10/30/24
Happy Birthday Ginger Happy Birthday Ginger She Turned Eight Today 10/28/24
What I Admire about Kamala What I Admire about Kamala And How She Will Change America 10/25/24
Robert Reich Paying Homage... Robert Reich Paying Homage... To a Special American 10/23/24
Trump is Correct...Partially Trump is Correct...Partially He Just Missed Who the Enemy Was 10/16/24
What’s With the Water? What’s With the Water? Water, Water, Everywhere 10/14/24
Life Will Improve Life Will Improve If You Use More than One Silo 10/11/24
Professor Keating and I Professor Keating and I We Both Took Mrs. Davis’s English Class 10/07/24
Another Set of Photos for Ti Ti Another Set of Photos for Ti Ti Remain Driven in Life 10/04/24
Trump Psychoanalyzes Harris Trump Psychoanalyzes Harris But He Reveals His Psych Issues in the Process 10/02/24
Another Eureka Moment Another Eureka Moment Thank You, Nancy 09/30/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts “I Want To Be Your Protector” Said the Neanderthal 09/27/24
Following in the Footsteps of Lt. Zogg Following in the Footsteps of Lt. Zogg It’s All About Being Determined 09/25/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts The Virgin King Enjoying Life in Another World 09/20/24
Discovering a Mentor Discovering a Mentor In a Field of Dreams 09/13/24
Creating Fortress America Creating Fortress America Thoughts of Vulgar Vance 09/06/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Becoming a Monkey King It's More Than Mere Monkey Business 09/04/24
Ginger Has Done the Dance Ginger Has Done the Dance We Are Bonded as Dancers 08/21/24
Destiny or Fate Destiny or Fate It is Another Either/Or Issue 08/16/24
The Duality of Daffodils The Duality of Daffodils Carpe Diem 08/12/24
Get With It Get With It Roar Like a Lion 08/07/24
You Know that You Are Getting Old You Know that You Are Getting Old When You Don’t Know All the New Words and Slogans 08/05/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Lessons Learned in Former British Colonies Like America, South Africa, and Myanmar 07/31/24
The Third Old Man The Third Old Man Or Three Coins in the Fountain of Life 07/29/24
A Story of Two Old Men A Story of Two Old Men And How They Will Be Remembered 07/26/24
Ukraine and Myanmar Ukraine and Myanmar An Unfortunate Parallel 07/15/24
My Kierkegaardian-esque Parable My Kierkegaardian-esque Parable Either / Or 07/12/24
A Parable about Geese A Parable about Geese Waddle or Fly 07/10/24
If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something Sometimes I Disobey 07/08/24
It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again With the Father and Son 07/05/24
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary Once Upon a Midnight Dreary What Would Kierkegaard Do? 07/03/24
How Will We Be Remembered How Will We Be Remembered Another Either / Or Essay 06/28/24
Ethnic Cleansing Ethnic Cleansing Then and Now 06/26/24
Christian Nationalism Christian Nationalism Who are These Christians? 06/24/24
Another Funny Thing Happened Another Funny Thing Happened At My Barber Shop 06/21/24
We Need to Get Honest We Need to Get Honest Much Sooner Than Later 06/19/24
The Sickness Is Spreading The Sickness Is Spreading Among Many Americans 06/14/24
I’m Leading Death Again I’m Leading Death Again On My Dancefloor of Life 06/10/24
Let Me Get This Straight Let Me Get This Straight Trump Is An Innocent Man 06/07/24
Learning from Kipling Learning from Kipling “You’re a Better Man than I Am, Gunga Din!” 06/05/24
What’s It All About, Alfie What’s It All About, Alfie According to Longfellow 05/31/24
We Still Aren’t Independent of England We Still Aren’t Independent of England Many Still Have the Same Mindset 05/29/24
Repeating the Past Repeating the Past Make Sure You Understand the Past 05/24/24
My Grandmother’s Words My Grandmother’s Words Haunt and Inspire Me 05/20/24
I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance He Acted Like It 05/17/24
Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Each of Us Twice 05/15/24
Every Day is Like Survival Every Day is Like Survival You're My Lover Not My Rival 05/13/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts How Much Land Does a Man Need? An Edited Tolstoy 05/10/24
What’s with Bohemian Rhapsody What’s with Bohemian Rhapsody And Our Takeaway 05/08/24
A Very Stable Genius A Very Stable Genius Is Loose and Running Around 05/06/24
The Flying Dutchman The Flying Dutchman Then and Now 05/03/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Trump’s Roosting Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost 05/01/24
Rudy, Be Careful with Your Rants Rudy, Be Careful with Your Rants You Should Have Watched Men in Black 04/29/24
Still I Rise Still I Rise Despite Racism 04/26/24
Field of Dreams Field of Dreams A Haunting Return 04/24/24
Lincoln and His Better Angels Lincoln and His Better Angels Or Trump and His Worst Demons 04/22/24
Total Eclipse of the Heart Total Eclipse of the Heart Revisited 04/17/24
My Solution to the Abortion Issue My Solution to the Abortion Issue Form Follows Function 04/15/24
What Did Rowe Learn from Beethoven? What Did Rowe Learn from Beethoven? Erasing 04/12/24
Repeating Bad History Repeating Bad History Creates Newer Bad History 04/10/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts What I Discovered When I Wasn’t Looking 04/08/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Bush’s Bus Ride Leadership or Roadkills 04/05/24
Ginger Trains Her Owner Ginger Trains Her Owner And I’m Obedient 04/03/24
The Real Mona Lisa The Real Mona Lisa Or the Fake Ones 03/25/24
Projection, Projection, Projection Projection, Projection, Projection Trump’s Fatal Flaw 03/22/24
Standing on the Hill Standing on the Hill Our Human Destiny 03/20/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Who Will Bring Trump to Justice Not the Courts 03/18/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Träumerei Then and Now 03/15/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Resurrecting the Quest of Men in Black Before the Election 03/13/24
Trump Has Some Issues with Taylor Swift Trump Has Some Issues with Taylor Swift Beyond His Legal Woes and Coming Up with a Half Billion Dollars 03/11/24
I Have Issues with Justice Thomas I Have Issues with Justice Thomas The Holier Than Thou Mindset 03/08/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts It’s Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away 03/06/24
Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Keeping Her Happy and Healthy 03/04/24
Music and Me Music and Me The Cost of Love Then and Now 03/01/24
And a Sickness Too Took Root And a Sickness Too Took Root Donald the Dumb Has Rooted 02/28/24
Odysseus’ Long, Long Journey Odysseus’ Long, Long Journey Both Odysseus and Odie 02/26/24
The Paradox About Ring Kissing The Paradox About Ring Kissing Why the Kiss? 02/23/24
Another Bedtime Story for Trump Another Bedtime Story for Trump About Aaron and the Donald 02/21/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again 50th Mass Shootings in America This Year 02/16/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts St. Valentine’s Day The Real St. Valentine’s Day 02/14/24
If I Were in Charge of Education If I Were in Charge of Education This is What I Would Mandate 02/12/24
Citizen Kane and Citizen Trump Citizen Kane and Citizen Trump Live in Xanadu 02/09/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts The Box or Jar of Pandora Another Parable 02/07/24
The Two Faces of Prometheus The Two Faces of Prometheus Which Face Will You Pick? 02/05/24
Trump Wasn’t the First Trump Trump Wasn’t the First Trump There Have Been Others 02/02/24
The Past is a Precursor The Past is a Precursor To the Future 01/31/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts The Achilles’ Heel Of the Republicans 01/29/24
My Birthday My Birthday And the Age of Aquarius 01/24/24
My Third Dance with Death My Third Dance with Death And Its Effect 01/22/24
First, There was Jacques Cousteau First, There was Jacques Cousteau Now, There is Ti Ti 01/12/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Artificial Intelligence Past, Present, and Future 01/10/24
Infallibility of Trump Infallibility of Trump And the Divine Right of Kings 01/08/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts It Was To Be a Short Phone Call But It Wasn’t 01/05/24
This Is a True Story... This Is a True Story... About Guts 01/03/24
Starting a New Year Starting a New Year With a New Battery and Insight 01/01/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Unexpected Events Can Create Opportunities for Greatness 12/25/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Do You Hear the People Sing... Who Will Not Be Slaves Again! 12/22/23
Why Write? Why Write? Answers from Vonnegut and Faulkner 12/20/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Solar Flares and CMEs Impending Impact 12/18/23
The Paradox of Learning The Paradox of Learning It Is an Either/Or Knowledge Base 12/13/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Yin-Yang Beyond My Personal World What About Your World? 12/11/23
My Yin Yang World My Yin Yang World Dreams vs. Reality 12/08/23
The Orange Jesus... The Orange Jesus... Is from a Planet in the Andromeda Galaxy 12/04/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Gift to Dr. Derrè Ginger Stated, “Dr. Derrè’s My Vet” 12/01/23
What Would T.E. Lawrence Do What Would T.E. Lawrence Do In Gaza and Israel? 11/29/23
The Evolution of Thanksgiving The Evolution of Thanksgiving A Long and Winding Road 11/24/23
A Future Thanksgiving A Future Thanksgiving Far, Far Away 11/22/23
The Royal We The Royal We Revisited 11/17/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Let Me Get This Straight “If you go after me, I’m coming after you.” 11/13/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts On the Road Again Ginger, the Pooh Dog, and Me 11/10/23
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night A Lesson Taught by Dylan Thomas 11/06/23
The Ripple Effect The Ripple Effect An Either/Or Issue 11/01/23
Ginger’s 7th Birthday Ginger’s 7th Birthday What’s Life All About, Alfie? 10/30/23
Sagan’s Golden Records Sagan’s Golden Records On the Horns of a Dilemma 10/27/23
Flipper... Flipper... Let the Show Begin 10/23/23
Breath of Fresh Air Breath of Fresh Air From My Web Administrator 10/20/23
Me and My Echocardiogram Me and My Echocardiogram Beyond a Diagnosis 10/18/23
Dealing with the New Normal Dealing with the New Normal Again and Again 10/13/23
Lawrence of Arabia... Lawrence of Arabia... A Mentor of Mine 10/11/23
Let’s Do the Math Let’s Do the Math It is an Either/Or Choice 10/09/23
Kevin Needs Therapy Kevin Needs Therapy And a Newer Gaming Video 10/06/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Check-Up Again, at Purdue Veterinary Hospital 10/04/23
Casablanca... Casablanca... Then and Now 09/29/23
The Evolution of Humans The Evolution of Humans To the Present Day 09/27/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ancient Greeks and the Fear Factor The Truth about the Fear Factor 09/25/23
My Second Shot My Second Shot Or the First Insurrection 09/22/23
My World of Xanadu My World of Xanadu Another Personal Parallel Essay 09/20/23
Tyson’s Two Thoughts Tyson’s Two Thoughts Regarding AI and a Ticking Clock 09/15/23
Dealing with Artificial Intelligence Dealing with Artificial Intelligence Seems a Bit Premature 09/13/23
The Importance of Happenstance The Importance of Happenstance For Heavenly Clauses 09/08/23
Jumping Hoops for a Prescription Jumping Hoops for a Prescription Raises Ethical Issues at Various Levels 09/04/23
Another Dance for Ginger Another Dance for Ginger Learn and Live in the Moment 09/01/23
Before Burning Books... Before Burning Books... We Need to Read Them 08/30/23
The Source of Trump’s Mug Shot The Source of Trump’s Mug Shot It’s Naissance was Wagner 08/28/23
Holding Hands with Neal Katyal Holding Hands with Neal Katyal What My Teacher Taught Me 08/21/23
Hollow Men Hollow Men Two Troubled Souls 08/18/23
Thomas and Trump Thomas and Trump The Teacher and Student 08/16/23
Grasp This Truism Grasp This Truism From St. Francis and Buddha 08/07/23
picture-of The Parable of the Crow, Mouse, Gazelle, and Tortoise From the Fables of Kalīlah and Dimnah 08/02/23
Oppie and Me Oppie and Me The Similarities are Striking 07/24/23
The Synchronicity of My Mentors The Synchronicity of My Mentors Bobby and Don Quixote 07/19/23
The Clown Car Drivers The Clown Car Drivers Are Driving Scared 06/30/23
The Tree in the Silo The Tree in the Silo A Metaphor of Me 06/23/23
What Some Old White Guy Thinks What Some Old White Guy Thinks And Juneteenth 06/19/23
The Lady and Bobby Pick Mentors Carefully The Lady and Bobby 06/02/23
Be a Sherpa Be a Sherpa Whether or Not You are a Beekeeper or Nepalese 05/31/23
A Suggestion of a Mentor A Suggestion of a Mentor A Sequel to Picking a Mentor Article 04/07/23
Run That Past Me Again Run That Past Me Again. It Doesn’t Make Sense. 03/31/23
Witch Hunts Witch Hunts Question: Who Is the Witch? 03/29/23
Tucker’s Talk Tucker’s Talk Is Double-Talk 03/24/23
Rewriting the Past Rewriting the Past By Editing or Deleting It 03/22/23
Returning To the Past Returning To the Past: Example One 03/20/23
So, Let Me Get This Straight...the Sequel So, Let Me Get This Straight...the Sequel What’s the Gospel Truth? 03/10/23
So Let Me Get This Straight So Let Me Get This Straight Let’s Wake Up 03/06/23
Music Explains Me Music Explains Me Music Drives Me 03/03/23
Jabbering Parrots Jabbering Parrots What We Can Learn from Churchill and Buffett 02/22/23
Inherit the Wind Inherit the Wind And You Will Be Gone with the Wind 02/20/23
Threading the Needle Threading the Needle To Address Racism 02/17/23
TV Commercials TV Commercials Five Pros and One Con 02/15/23
Learning from Lao Tzu Learning from Lao Tzu To Live Life Daringly 02/13/23
Learning from Two Astrophysicists Learning from Two Astrophysicists About this World 02/10/23
The Chinese Magic Dragon The Chinese Magic Dragon Went Puff 02/08/23
Fatty and Bo Bo Gyi Fatty and Bo Bo Gyi Addressing Our Nation’s Problems 02/06/23
Let’s Get Honest Let’s Get Honest About White Camelot 02/03/23
Education is a Double-Edged Sword Education is a Double-Edged Sword How To Address Learning 02/01/23
Aggressive Chimpanzees Aggressive Chimpanzees Outside of Africa 01/30/23
We are Good and Bad at the Same Time We are Good and Bad at the Same Time The Goodness Paradox 01/27/23
What Causes Stupidity? What Causes Stupidity? Lying or Lack of Knowledge 01/13/23
The Benefit of Pain The Benefit of Pain Take Advantage of It 01/02/23
What Drove My Father and Drives Me? What Drove My Father and Drives Me? Pain 12/30/22
It’s All About We It’s All About We An Important Lesson of Life 12/26/22
Be Careful Whom You Choose as a Mentor Be Careful Whom You Choose as a Mentor Hatanaka or Scrooge 12/23/22
Only This and Nothing More “Only This and Nothing More” Quote the Raven 12/21/22
I Wish that I Had Asked My Father I Wish that I Had Asked My Father About WWII 12/19/22
Repeating the Past...Part II Repeating the Past...Part II Tokyo Rose 12/16/22
Repeating the Past Repeating the Past It’s Just Fake News 12/14/22
I Could Hear the Silence I Could Hear the Silence While I Raged 12/12/22
Problems are Assets Problems are Assets Seize the Problems 12/09/22
The Reckoning Day The Reckoning Day Of the Invincibles 12/07/22
A Soccer and Hockey Game A Soccer and Hockey Game What’s the Take Away? 12/05/22
My Way My Way Morphing to My Mentoring 12/02/22
If You Are Looking for a Mentor... If You Are Looking for a Mentor... I Have a Suggestion 11/28/22
What World Are We Living In? What World Are We Living In? The Denier’s World 11/23/22
A Swan Song A Swan Song Then and Now 11/18/22
Finger Pointing Finger Pointing It’s Their Fault.... 11/16/22
As Shelley Wrote, We Are All Greek As Shelley Wrote, “We Are All Greek” Some Don’t Get It 11/09/22
Camelot Revisited Camelot Revisited By Looking Again at the Past 11/07/22
Trying Times Trying Times Testing Souls 09/23/22
Trilogy of Diseases How Are You Going to Address the Trilogy? 08/12/22
An Important Teaching Moment Joe and I Are Twins 08/10/22
John Gotti Alias Teflon Don and Dapper Don 07/29/22
One of My Mantras Gals Pick Your Mentors Carefully 07/27/22
My Place in the Universe I Don’t Want to be Lost in Space 07/15/22
Learn from William Wallace and Gilgamesh As We Journey Down Our Yellow Brick Roads 07/13/22
Learning from the Japanese About What We Don’t Know 07/11/22
Alan Turing Thinking Outside the Box 07/6/22
Trouble in River City Come Hell or High Water 06/24/22
Lionel, Amazon’s Guardian Angel Fended Off UPS 06/22/22
Miah Is the 21st Century Eppie A Hand Is Put Into Theirs…. 06/17/22
Teaching Justice Alito Latin, History, and Common Sense Past Decisions Aren’t Necessarily Correct 06/6/22
Which Memorial Day Should Be Observed? It Is an Either/Or Question. 05/30/22
“The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men….” Reset and Carry On 05/13/22
We Are All Greeks Some To a Much Lesser Extent 04/26/22
When Choosing Mentors… Think 04/01/22
Seeing the Future At Least Three Times 03/30/22
My Family in Myanmar: A Sequel to What’s It All About 03/28/22
The Problem with Yes-Men Who Say Yes All the Time 03/23/22
Ginger and I What’s It All About and Why? 03/21/22
What We Can Learn from Yapping Dogs And Yapping Leaders 03/11/22
The Helter-Skelter Mindset1 Locally and Globally 03/09/22
My Great-Granddaughter A Younger Version of My Granddaughters 03/07/22
Two Military Leaders Parker and Lee 03/04/22
A Tale of Two Leaders: Address Their Rivals 03/02/22
Unintended Consequences From Easter Island 02/28/22
If Everything Around You Seems Dark… Look Again. You May Be the Light. 02/26/22
History Is Repetitious Then and Now 02/21/22
My Latest Himalayan Salt Lamp A Parable for Today 02/14/22
The Tale of My Foot Years Ago and Today 02/11/22
More Parallels Between Myanmar and America Aung San and Bobby Kennedy 02/07/22
Parallels Between Myanmar and America Even Though They Are On the Other Side of the World 02/04/22
My Dream of Diversity In the Footsteps of Bobby 02/02/22
Diversity Is the Answer But What Is the Question? 01/31/22
Two Countries Living in One World 01/24/22
A Sequel to My Dreamland Journey… To the Brighter Side of Life 01/21/22
My Dreamland During My Operation 01/19/22
Coming to America A Dream of Many 01/17/22
Christmas: Past, Present, and Future 12/24/21
A Sickness Too Took Root Everywhere 12/20/21
The Operation Was Successful But No Microchip Was Found 12/17/21
Free To Be Me… Somewhat 12/15/21
Two Dreamers... Discuss the Way the World Should Be 12/08/21
Archimedes and the Syracusia It’s All About Dreaming 12/01/21
It All Started with Roger Williams Which Needs To Be Revisited 11/24/21
Protests at School Boards Then and Now 11/17/21
It Starts with Education… And Ends with Reform. 11/10/21
What is Critical Race Theory? Two Options 11/08/21
The Duality of Changing Times Change, and We Change 10/22/21
Societal Dreaming Delayed but Not Dashed 10/18/21
We Need to Learn from History… Not Rewrite It. 10/11/21
My Takeaway From the Great Chicago Fire 10/08/21
What Ginger’s Dances Taught Me Despite My Dances 10/06/21
Ti Ti and Education Why Is Education Critical? 10/04/21
What’s All This About Women? The Times They Are A-Changin’ Ever So Slowly 10/01/21
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary…. “Ride, Boldly Ride” 09/27/21
Quoth the Raven My Medical Diagnosis 09/22/21
A Ngal Lay Sent Me Pictures and a Video About Our Time Together 09/20/21
Revisiting Gilgamesh A Teaching Moment 09/17/21
My Great-Granddaughter… A Ngal Lay 09/15/21
We Need to Learn from the Past Or We Will Repeat 09/13/21
When I Become President of the World… Things Are Going to Change 09/10/21
The Dual Negativisms… Of Racism and Sexism 09/08/21
The Pros and Cons… Of Replicating Our Parents 09/06/21
“I’m Doing the Dance” The Title of Ti Ti’s Poem 09/03/21
Snow’s Poem About Her New Normal 09/01/21
Realizing the New Normal What’s All About, Alfie? 08/30/21
There Is a Message in the Mask Listen To the Medical Professionals or Get Sick 08/25/21
What Can We Learn from Art? The Answer Is…. 08/18/21
Trump Is Returning to the White House Today, August 13, 2021 08/13/21
Gandhi’s Tribute to Moh Moh For Her Indomitable Will 08/11/21
It Is Time To Write Poetry Another Teaching Event 08/06/21
It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again For Ginger and Me 08/04/21
Sir Gawain, the Knight Doing What a Knight Does 08/01/21
What To Do When Your World Is Out of Control What I Learned from My Family 07/30/21
Ginger Doing the Dance And An Important Takeaway 07/28/21
A Follow-Up to Snow’s Email Another Teaching Moment 07/26/21
How To Achieve Being Venerated, Wise, and Great In Two Steps 07/16/21
A Story of Three Statues Lee, Jackson, Trump 07/12/21
Resurrection I’m Alive Along with My Computer, and Ginger 07/07/21
Patriots Past and Present in America On the 4th of July 07/05/21
Let Me Ponder This for a Moment Wake Up, America 06/18/21
Trump In 3-D Dumb, Delusional, and Despicable 06/16/21
One Year Hence Reincarnation of Gawain and the Fox 05/28/21
"History Is Written By Victors…" Sometimes 05/19/21
The History of Myanmar… Is Being Written Now 05/07/21
The Haunting Question Which Sir Launfal Are You? 04/30/21
Problems Offer a Choice Either a Cul-de-sac or a Challenge 04/23/21
A Religious Disconnect A Human Disconnect 04/21/21
Learning from Collecting Written by a Collector of Treasures 04/16/21
The War of Northern Aggression Isn’t Over Yet 04/14/21
Are You Looking for a Mentor? This is My Advice 04/12/21
A Survivor’s Guide For Living in a Post-Trumpian World 04/09/21
As Kierkegaard Said It Is Either/Or 04/05/21
A Disadvantage of Being a WASPWe All Need to Learn 04/02/21
t’s All About Being RememberedChoose Wisely 03/10/21
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
The Pandas and My PoohAnd Other Followers of Gilgamesh 02/03/21
Who Is That Lady in Yellow?A 21st Century Eppie 02/01/21
Where’s the Proof?The New Me 01/25/21
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
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
A Secret About LifeHow To Be Successful 12/21/20
When Opportunity KnocksCarpe Diem 12/18/20
Your Meaning of Being…What Is It? 12/14/20
This Is a Teaching MomentAbout America 12/07/20
Remembering the PastSpring Follows Winter 12/02/20
Blue House Remodeled…With Drive and Determination 11/30/20
A Modafinil Moment…Revisited 11/20/20
Problems Are Catalysts for ChangeBut It Is Up to You 11/18/20
It’s Either/OrTrump Needs to Read Søren Kierkegaard 11/16/20
Emails Past and PresentA Reflection Upon Our World 11/09/20
Discerning the TruthA Means to Live Life 11/04/20
It Was Four Years AgoAnd What a Difference Four Years Makes 11/02/20
Ginger’s Birthday BashI Hope That She Has Many More 10/30/20
We Are Both Dancers…Ginger and I 10/28/20
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
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
Jainism or the JusticeThe Place of Women in the World 09/28/20
Dealing with RealityIn the Human and Canine World 09/18/20
Masks Matter…To Some 09/16/20
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
Let Me Get This Straight…About the Trump Flu 08/03/20
Ginger and I Have Done the DanceAnd Are Alive 07/22/20
"Give Me a Place to Stand...And I Will Move the World.” 07/20/20
“We See No White-Winged Angels Now…”But We See Little Children 07/01/20
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
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
A New Memorial DayDue to the COVID-19 05/25/20
Our Reason for BeingDiscover It 05/18/20
Thinking Outside the Box of COVID-19And How You Will Benefit 05/08/20
The World is Dancing…Dancing with Death 04/24/20
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
An Open Letter to Dr. FauciOne American’s Thank You 04/01/20
Another Miracle Drug…Maybe 03/30/20
Another Teaching MomentAbout Times Past 03/27/20
Regarding Dancing with CoronavirusCampbell’s Five Commandments 03/25/20
Let’s Make a DealThanks to Modafinil 03/23/20
The Cave vs Reality...That is the Question. 03/20/20
A Teaching MomentFor Today and the Future 03/18/20
Trump’s NemesisPresident Obama 03/16/20
I Don’t Like FailingModus Operandi 03/13/20
We Face Two PandemicsBoth Need Immediate Attention 03/11/20
Holy TerrorMy Nom De Guerre 03/04/20
How Playing Scrabble Changed My LifeWho Would Have Thought? 02/28/20
What Drives MeBack Then and Now 02/19/20
The Republican TrinitySessions, Bolton, and Roberts 01/31/20
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
Plagiarism Sharpie-Gate 09/11/19
It’s All About Legacy “There Ain't No Way To Hide Your Lyin' Eyes” 08/30/19
Starry, Starry Night…. What Do You See? 08/12/19
Trump and White Supremacy The Torch Has Been Passed to a New Generation 08/09/19
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
In the Game of Life… It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again 07/10/19
Another Déjà Vu In the Arts and Philosophy 06/07/19
Cowards Die Many Times Before Their Death... In Rome and In Washington. 06/05/19
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
Alabama and Abortion… And Sexism 05/20/19
Nietzsche Apparently Read Thoreau But I Have Read Much of Both 05/17/19
Nietzsche, Pathétique, and No Pain, No Gain Part Two of One-Liners 05/15/19
Nietzsche Wanted Two Things in Life: Music and a Dancing God 05/13/19
Purpose of Our Being What’s It All About, Alfie 05/10/19
Pathétique A Way to Live Life 05/03/19
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
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
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
Reflections 01/09/19
Krampus, the Bad Santa… Is Coming to Get You 12/21/18
Another Dinner and Date with Ginger On Election Night 11/09/18
Keep Calm And Things Seem to Work Out 10/24/18
The Relevance of Religion In the World 10/15/18
What White Old Men Need to Understand From a White Old Man 10/10/18
Sexism in Society Especially in Washington 10/05/18
Teaching Students And Learning as a Teacher 09/24/18
A Noble Person… Meets Another Noble Person 09/17/18
The Pearl of Death Or the Lesson of Life 09/05/18
Admiral McRaven and St. Francis Two Similar Minds 08/29/18
What Goes Around Comes Around…Again and Again 08/17/18
The Meaning of Being Or Why Am I Here? 08/13/18
Be a Dreamer.... And Never Quit Dreaming. 08/10/18
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
It’s All Begins with Making My Bed— Which Ginger Unmakes 07/13/18
If I fail, If I Fail… I Will While Daring Greatly 07/06/18
Forrester and Jamal Forrester and Jamal You and I 05/11/18
wrinkle in time A Wrinkle in Time Thinking Outside the Box 04/25/18
federick_douglass thumbnail Frederick Douglass A Better Man Than I 04/13/18
heart-part thumbnail My Heart Issues—Part II The One That’s Pumping Blood 03/14/18
holmes-death thumbnail Sherlock Holmes Faces Death The Times They Are Changin’ 03/07/18
emerging-nation thumbnail An Emerging Nation On Its Way to a Developed Nation 02/19/18
another-breakfast thumbnail Another Breakfast with My Shrink Dealing with Dreaming 01/01/18
Death Dance thumbnail Doing the Dance... Fathoming the Unfathomable 12/11/17
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address thumbnail Lincoln's Gettysburg Address... Then and Now 11/20/17
Balfour thumbnail The Balfour Declaration One Explanation for the Mess in the Middle East 11/01/17
Live In The Moment thumbnail Live in the Moment... Plan for the Future 10/20/17
Ginger Santayana thumbnail Ginger and Santayana Remember the Past 10/09/17
Double Axe thumbnail The Double-Axe A Symbol of My Identity 09/15/17
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
Macbeth Hamlet thumbnail Macbeth... Guilt Spills Itself for Fear of Being Spilt 08/02/17
Trinity Oppenheimer thumbnail Oppie The Scientist and the Philosopher 07/17/17
Impeachment thumbnail Impeachment of Trump And the Tower of Babel 06/30/17
Single Player thumbnail My Solution to Healthcare Reform... Single-Payer 06/26/17
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
Frobisher's Quests thumbnail Frobisher’s Quests The Northwest Passage and Gold 05/31/17
Global Warming thumbnail HMS Terror, HMS Erebus, Global Warming… Or Nonsense from Those Godless Chinese Communists 05/26/17
To Become thumbnail To Become… What You Might Have Been 04/28/17
The Help thumbnail The Help Déjá Vu 04/17/17
Bowl of Cherries thumbnail Life Is a Bowl of Cherries Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men 04/14/17
The Efforts of the Lady thumbnail The Efforts of the Lady vs. The Efforts of Donald the Dumb 04/12/17
Chick Magnet thumbnail Chick Magnet And the Hauntings 03/31/17
Shrimp Can Whistle thumbnail Shrimp Can Whistle "I dream things that never were and say, why not." 03/08/17
Invictus thumbnail Invictus Thank You, Mrs. Davis 03/06/17
What Donald the Dumb is Missing in Life? thumbnail What Donald the Dumb is Missing in Life? Eppie 03/01/17
Robert the Bruce thumbnail Robert the Bruce I'll Drink to Him! 02/17/17
How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? thumbnail How Will I Live to My 100th Birthday? Answer: Ikigai 01/20/17
Step Beyond the Impossible Wall thumbnail Step Beyond the Impossible Wall Learning from the Mongols 12/28/16
Accomplishing Things in Life... thumbnail Accomplishing Things in Life... Even Long Shots 12/16/16
Coping with Butterflies thumbnail Coping with Butterflies Getting Organized 12/07/16
Moh Moh's Email thumbnail Moh Moh's Email Big Dreams Never Run Smooth 12/02/16
The Lady thumbnail The Lady And the Peacock 11/04/16
Sexism and Trump thumbnail Sexism and Trump Religious or Societal 10/26/16
Resurrecting Dashed Dreams thumbnail Resurrecting Dashed Dreams By Continuing to Dream 10/17/16
Why Do I Care? thumbnail Why Do I Care? More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care? 09/16/16
thumbnail Return to Myanmar Dream Big 09/02/16
The Meaning Behind the Man thumbnail The Meaning Behind the Man The Man of La Mancha 08/29/16
One Great Value of Education... thumbnail One Great Value of Education... Equality 08/22/16
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
The Kiss thumbnail The Kiss From Life to Death 08/08/16
The Value of Giving Gifts... thumbnail The Value of Giving Gifts... To Young Children 08/01/16
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us. 07/29/16
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
Dealing with Dreams that Could Have Been... thumbnail Dealing with Dreams that Could Have Been... But Aren't 07/15/16
I Come in a World of Iron... thumbnail "I Come in a World of Iron... To Make a World of Gold." 06/27/16
Bloody Hands and No Backbone thumbnail Bloody Hands and No Backbone What a Legacy 06/20/16
The Angel Spoke... thumbnail The Angel Spoke... And I Listened. 06/10/16
Mr. Turner thumbnail Mr. Turner The Dualism of Feelings 05/06/16
An Anniversary Has Arrived.... thumbnail An Anniversary Has Arrived.... The Fifth Anniversary. 05/02/16
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
Christopher Reeve thumbnail Christopher Reeve Another Dancer Who Could Also Fly 04/08/16
What Drives Me? thumbnail What Drives Me? And the Answer Is.... 03/07/16
On Seeing the Light thumbnail On Seeing the Light Chuck, Paul, and Me 03/04/16
The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper thumbnail The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper Follow Randy Pausch's Example 02/24/16
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
I Am Looking for Another Dancer thumbnail I Am Looking for Another Dancer The Ultimate Partner 02/17/16
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
Somewhere in Time thumbnail Somewhere in Time The Importance of Memories 02/04/16
The Drinkable Book thumbnail The Drinkable Book I Wish I Had One While in Indochina 02/03/16
Another Dancer thumbnail Another Dancer David Hume 02/01/16
Dreams will come to you.... thumbnail Dreams will come to you.... If You Are True to Your Quest 01/22/16
Miguel Cervantes thumbnail Miguel Cervantes As Don Quixote 01/18/16
"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun." Randy Pausch is Correct 01/15/16
The Gift of an Angel thumbnail The Gift of an Angel It is More About My Feelings 01/06/16
Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me thumbnail Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me To Get Off My Arse 12/18/15
Going to Hell in a Handbasket thumbnail Going to Hell in a Handbasket And the Tibetan Mask 12/14/15
Doing the Dance Again thumbnail Doing the Dance Again How to Address Both New Dances 12/11/15
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
Pandora Provides Hope... thumbnail Pandora Provides Hope... Don Quixote Provides Determination 11/09/15
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True 10/19/15
It's Confession Time... thumbnail It's Confession Time... And It Isn't Sunday 10/09/15
Squirt's Observations of Her Papa thumbnail Squirt's Observations of Her Papa A Modern Day Eppie's Reflection 10/02/15
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
Agnes Majors in the Minors thumbnail Agnes Majors in the Minors A Big Fish in a Drying Up Small Pond 09/04/15
A Man with a Mission... thumbnail A Man with a Mission... Sinking a German U-boat 08/12/15
Dinner with GiGi thumbnail Dinner with GiGi The Socratic Method of an Older Woman 07/17/15
What I Learned About Life... thumbnail What I Learned About Life... From Facing Down the Dragon 06/29/15
The Benefit of Problems thumbnail The Benefit of Problems Or the Only Means to Success 06/08/15
It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... thumbnail It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... And Cracked My Head 05/18/15
Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens thumbnail Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens How to Avoid the Ghosts 05/08/15
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
How Do We Learn? thumbnail How Do We Learn? The Lessons in Learning 04/13/15
Ode to Joy thumbnail Ode to Joy In the Midst of Pain 03/27/15
Think about the Legacy that You Leave thumbnail Think about the Legacy that You Leave Will Your Relatives Be Proud of You? 03/19/15
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
The Most Dangerous Woman in America thumbnail The Most Dangerous Woman in America Mother Jones and Her Boys 01/16/15
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
Serendipity... thumbnail Serendipity... Finding Without Looking 12/12/14
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
Seeing When You Think You See... thumbnail Seeing When You Think You See... The Difference is Dazzling. 10/31/14
The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men... thumbnail "The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men... Often Go Awry" 10/27/14
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
It is in Giving that We Get... thumbnail It is in Giving that We Get... Especially in Restaurants in Valparaiso. 09/05/14