My Hauntings
For years, I have experienced
what I call my hauntings. These
events are not Halloween-like hauntings or ghoulish feelings that create fear
and terror within me. My hauntings come rather as nagging questions begging
answers, understandings, or explanations. They can be both personal and
professional issues that will not rest until I address them in some
fashion. My hauntings are like what Edgar Allan Poe describes in The
Raven.
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore--
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I
muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
Only this and nothing more."
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My hauntings do not come like
Poe's raven "perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door" but very
often late at night while I am at my computer. Nonetheless, I benefit
from them once I address the hauntings in some manner.
An example of one of my hauntings
occurred while I was traveling in Myanmar. Of all my various trips to
faraway places around the world, that single trip was the best trip that I have
ever taken for many reasons. Myanmar is a military dictatorship.
However, I was invited to attend a protest rally near Sule Pagoda in
Yangon. It reminded me of the civil rights protest rallies back in the
60s. That protest rally at Sule Pagoda was a transformative event for
me.
A couple days after returning
home from Myanmar, I had a routine office visit with my cardiologist, Dr.
Marchand. Everything was fine with my heart. Nevertheless, he asked
me if I had any questions for him. I asked him a non-cardiovascular
question about my being wired. He responded, "You have seen the light."
Dr. Marchand's response caused me to address both his response and my haunting
regarding being driven.
Interestingly, my hauntings
rattle me until I act. When I act, the outcome, about which I had
procrastinated addressing, is often a blessing or at least a relief. When
I attempt to deal some personal or professional haunting, if I fail, at least I
tried while daring greatly.
This essay is the archetypal example of my hauntings.
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The Angel Spoke...
And I Listened.
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06/10/16
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What If....
It's All About My Mantra.
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11/13/24 |
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Amid the Chaos
A Suggestion about the Next Four Years
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11/08/24 |
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It's a Long, Long Road
From Which There is No Return
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11/04/24 |
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Happy Birthday Ginger
She Turned Eight Today
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10/28/24 |
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What’s With the Water?
Water, Water, Everywhere
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10/14/24 |
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Professor Keating and I
We Both Took Mrs. Davis’s English Class
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10/07/24 |
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Another Eureka Moment
Thank You, Nancy
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09/30/24 |
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The Virgin King
Enjoying Life in Another World
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09/20/24 |
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Another Parallel
With James Earl Jones and Me
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09/18/24 |
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Discovering a Mentor
In a Field of Dreams
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09/13/24 |
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Another Set of Photos
For Ti Ti from PaPa Al
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09/09/24 |
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We Are All Teachers
Be Careful What You Teach
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08/28/24 |
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Become a Bo Bo Gyi
It's About Giving to Get.
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08/26/24 |
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The Snowman vs Allen
How To Change the World
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08/23/24 |
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What’s with Nancy Nurenberg?
It’s All About Feeling Dumb and Poor
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08/14/24 |
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The Washington Role Model
The Cherry Tree and Flowering Crabapple Tree
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07/24/24 |
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How Will We Be Remembered
Another Either / Or Essay
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06/28/24 |
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A Funny Thing Happened
At My Doctor’s Office
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06/17/24 |
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I’m Leading Death Again
On My Dancefloor of Life
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06/10/24 |
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What’s It All About, Alfie
According to Longfellow
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05/31/24 |
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My Grandmother’s Words
Haunt and Inspire Me
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05/20/24 |
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Field of Dreams
A Haunting Return
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04/24/24 |
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Immortal Beloved
Beethoven’s, Shakespeare’s, and Mine
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04/19/24 |
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What I Discovered
When I Wasn’t Looking
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04/08/24 |
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Ginger Trains Her Owner
And I’m Obedient
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04/03/24 |
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Standing on the Hill
Our Human Destiny
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03/20/24 |
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Träumerei
Then and Now
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03/15/24 |
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Kicking the Can Down the Road, Again
50th Mass Shootings in America This Year
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02/16/24 |
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The Past is a Precursor
To the Future
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01/31/24 |
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Starting a New Year
With a New Battery and Insight
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01/01/24 |
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What’s It All About...
The Paradox of Life
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12/29/23 |
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Do You Hear the People Sing...
Who Will Not Be Slaves Again!
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12/22/23 |
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Ginger’s Gift to Dr. Derrè
Ginger Stated, “Dr. Derrè’s My Vet”
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12/01/23 |
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Let Me Get This Straight
“If you go after me, I’m coming after you.”
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11/13/23 |
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Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
A Lesson Taught by Dylan Thomas
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11/06/23 |
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The Reason for Being
An Either/Or Situation
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11/03/23 |
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The Ripple Effect
An Either/Or Issue
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11/01/23 |
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Ginger’s 7th Birthday
What’s Life All About, Alfie?
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10/30/23 |
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Sagan’s Golden Records
On the Horns of a Dilemma
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10/27/23 |
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Lawrence of Arabia...
A Mentor of Mine
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10/11/23 |
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Ginger’s Check-Up
Again, at Purdue Veterinary Hospital
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10/04/23 |
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Tyson’s Two Thoughts
Regarding AI and a Ticking Clock
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09/15/23 |
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Haunting Photos
Then and Now
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08/09/23 |
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Oppie and Me
The Similarities are Striking
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07/24/23 |
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Gosh Josh
You Are So into Your Masculinity
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05/24/23 |
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AI Has Come of Age
And Who Is Greater?
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05/05/23 |
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Les Misérables Then and Now
Chevalier the Latest Incarnation
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04/24/23 |
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Picking Mentors
Choose Wisely
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04/05/23 |
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What’s It All About Ginger?
The Haunting Question
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04/03/23 |
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Music Explains Me
Music Drives Me
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03/03/23 |
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Happy Birthday Moh Moh
And Many More
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02/27/23 |
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Threading the Needle
To Address Racism
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02/17/23 |
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TV Commercials
Five Pros and One Con
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02/15/23 |
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Fatty and Bo Bo Gyi
Addressing Our Nation’s Problems
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02/06/23 |
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Education is a Double-Edged Sword
How To Address Learning
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02/01/23 |
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Aggressive Chimpanzees
Outside of Africa
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01/30/23 |
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Grasping Reality
I Can’t Explain It
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01/09/23 |
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The Benefit of Pain
Take Advantage of It
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01/02/23 |
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My Twilight Hauntings...
About Immortality
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11/25/22 |
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Growing Up Without Transparency
And Finally Discovering It
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10/14/22 |
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A Lesson About Life…
Don’t Fear Death…
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07/24/22 |
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Juneteenth
A Day to Remember
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06/20/22 |
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There is a Teapot in Orbit Around the Sun…
It Was Mentioned in Ancient Texts
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06/15/22 |
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The Trinity of Evil
Monkeys See as Monkeys Do
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06/10/22 |
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Grasping Reality
While My Clock Is Ticking
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04/29/22 |
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Heaven and Hell
What’s It All About, Alfie
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04/08/22 |
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Seeing the Future
At Least Three Times
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03/30/22 |
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My Family in Myanmar:
A Sequel to What’s It All About
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03/28/22 |
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The Helter-Skelter Mindset1
Locally and Globally
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03/09/22 |
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The Helter-Skelter Mindset1
Locally and Globally
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03/09/22 |
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My Great-Granddaughter
A Younger Version of My Granddaughters
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03/07/22 |
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If Everything Around You Seems Dark…
Look Again. You May Be the Light.
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02/26/22 |
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History Is Repetitious
Then and Now
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02/21/22 |
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My Dreamland
During My Operation
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01/19/22 |
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The Graduate…
The Canine Version
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12/22/21 |
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The Operation Was Successful
But No Microchip Was Found
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12/17/21 |
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Free To Be Me…
Somewhat
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12/15/21 |
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“The Moving Finger Writes”
Another Teaching Moment
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11/26/21 |
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Ginger and I
In Our Recovery Modes
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11/22/21 |
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My Extended Family
You Can See Her Painting.
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11/15/21 |
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A New Ripple
And a Purposeful Life
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10/27/21 |
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Paying Homage…
To Me
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10/25/21 |
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Societal Dreaming
Delayed but Not Dashed
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10/18/21 |
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The Pros and Cons…
Of Replicating Our Parents
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09/06/21 |
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Realizing the New Normal
What’s All About, Alfie?
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08/30/21 |
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The Eternal Question
The Harvest or the Seeds
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08/23/21 |
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Gandhi’s Tribute to Moh Moh
For Her Indomitable Will
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08/11/21 |
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We Are Cave Men
But What Is Our Purpose in Life?
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07/23/21 |
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A Ngal Lay
My Great-Granddaughter
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07/14/21 |
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Write On
Advice from PaPa Al, aka Grandpa
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06/28/21 |
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If They See the Goblin…
They Might Also See Planet X.
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06/23/21 |
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The Little One,
A Part of My Family
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06/09/21 |
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One Year Hence
Reincarnation of Gawain and the Fox
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05/28/21 |
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Reincarnation of Ra-Ra…
Reincarnation of Ra-Ra… |
05/14/21 |
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The Haunting Question
Which Sir Launfal Are You? |
04/30/21 |
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He Is My Brother
On This Pale Blue Dot |
04/28/21 |
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A Funny Thing Happened While on Zoom
My Fourth La Danse Macabre |
04/19/21 |
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Learning from Collecting
Written by a Collector of Treasures |
04/16/21 |
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My Quest to Find Meaning Life
My Search for My Holy Grail |
04/07/21 |
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My Love of Teaching This Is An Example |
03/26/21 |
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What’s It All About Aldie My Haunting Question |
03/19/21 |
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A Secret About LifeHow To Be Successful |
12/21/20 |
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The Importance of the Sound of Music…According to Nietzsche and Me |
10/26/20 |
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Amazing Grace Or More of the Same Insanity |
10/07/20 |
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There Is More to Dreaming…Than Just Dreaming |
08/07/20 |
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Egoism vs AltruismThere is a Better Way |
07/27/20 |
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Our Reason for BeingDiscover It |
05/18/20 |
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The Week That WasDance on with Determination |
04/20/20 |
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The Cave vs Reality...That is the Question. |
03/20/20 |
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We Face Two PandemicsBoth Need Immediate Attention
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03/11/20 |
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Circle of LifeDance On |
03/06/20 |
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Mr. ChipsAn Updated Version |
02/26/20 |
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A Present-Day ParableWhich Can Be Understood |
01/24/20 |
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Perspective
What You See Is What You Get.
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09/20/19
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Modafinil—
The Pill that Stopped My Meandering
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09/04/19
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A Whiter Shade of Pale
What’s It All About?
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06/12/19
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Another Déjà Vu
In the Arts and Philosophy
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06/07/19
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Nietzsche Apparently Read Thoreau
But I Have Read Much of Both
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05/17/19
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Purpose of Our Being
What’s It All About, Alfie
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05/10/19
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Pathétique
A Way to Live Life
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05/03/19
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The Moving Finger Writes
And the Writings Haunt Me
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04/26/19
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Coffin Bridge…
Build What You Need
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04/01/19
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Vocation of An Old Man…
Being a Bridge Builder
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03/29/19
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I Will Rage, Rage…
On Behalf of 1250 Students and One Celestial Comet
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03/25/19
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Dreaming….
About My Moment in Time
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03/11/19
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Tintern Abbey
Viewed by Wordsworth and Turner
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02/18/19
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I Made a Mistake…
Imagine That
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02/13/19
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This Essay Is About Morphing
Pelosi, Donald the Dumb, Pausch, Gandhi, and Me
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02/11/19
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Something to Dream About
While Waiting for the IRS’s Approval
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02/08/19
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Light at the End of the Tunnel
However, the Tunnel is an Illusion
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02/06/19
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This Essay Addresses Alfie
What’s It All About?
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01/28/19
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Hauntings from Deep Space….
From the Tabby’s Star
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01/21/19
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Looking at Life
From Both Sides Now
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1/7/19
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Way Back Home…
In America and Myanmar
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11/28/18
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"Look at Me
I Am Old but I’m Happy" |
11/14/18
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On Land and Sea
We Are All Greeks |
11/05/18
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Serendipitous Moments in My Life
And They Are Haunting Me |
10/31/18
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Ginger’s Vet…
My Psychiatrist
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10/17/18
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Rhythm of My Heart
Here and Abroad
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10/03/18
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Ginger Is the Love of My Life
As Seen in Music That I Love
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08/20/18
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The Meaning of Being
Or Why Am I Here?
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08/13/18
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Eppie…
Then and Now
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07/20/18
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Ti Ti’s Birthday Present
On Her 14th Birthday
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07/16/18
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Clarity About Dancing
Being Arthur Murray in the Real World
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06/11/18
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Ginger Recovered
And I Returned To My Hauntings
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05/25/18
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Ginger is One and a Half Years Old…
But What an Eighteen Months
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05/04/18
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Bobby’s Suggestion About My Problems…
A School in Taunggyi, Myanmar
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04/06/18
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Sherlock Holmes In Washington
While We Drank Ginger Grog
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04/04/18
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Marner and Eppie
Me and the Girls
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03/16/18
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The Question Is…
How Will You Be Remembered?
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02/26/18
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An Age of Revolution
If We But Know What To Do With It
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02/16/18
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The Water Horse of Loch Ness
And Our Water Horses of Life
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02/07/18
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A Shopping Spree
With My Three Granddaughters
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02/02/18
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Lesson Learned About Dreaming
I Learned from Bobby
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01/21/18
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The Best Week of My Life…
Occurred While I Was in Burma
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01/12/18
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My Thoughts about the Meaning of Life
My Perspective from My Twilight Years
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01/05/18
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Ginger's World...
Blends with My World
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01/03/18
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Ginger's World...
Blends with My World
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12/06/17
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Why Ginger?
The Hauntings of My Pooh Dog
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11/24/17
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What is Kepler Looking For?
Intelligent Life in the Universe
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11/15/17
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The Tattoo of My Pooh and Me
Ginger and Don Quixote
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11/10/17
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The Reason Behind...
Everything
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11/08/17
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Fake News...
Of the Italian Renaissance
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10/25/17
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Free To Be Me—
A Driven Dancer
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10/11/17
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Jade Suit...
Then Roll Me Up When I Die.
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10/04/17
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Ginger and I
Promises To Keep and Miles To Go Before We Sleep
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09/29/17
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Ginger
And the Issue of Kissing
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08/30/17
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Essay with No Words
But Look At My Eyes
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08/21/17
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Me and My Shrink
Dealing With What Drives Me
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08/16/17
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To Attach or Not to Attach
That Is the Question
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08/11/17
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Ti Ti and I
A Most Haunting Relationship
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08/04/17
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Ginger
And Her Unconditional Love
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07/28/17
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Breaking News from Ginger
About Trump Colluding with the Russians and Putin
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06/02/17
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Ginger’s Predecessors
And My Domesticated Carnivore
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05/19/17
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The Meaning of Life
It Is All About Fighting the Good Fight for Others
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04/19/17
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Life Is a Bowl of Cherries
Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
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04/14/17
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Chick Magnet
And the Hauntings
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03/31/17
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The Hauntings
About Bobby and the Gingers
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03/27/17
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A Dog's Purpose
The Person's Purpose
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03/03/17
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Ginger, Socks, and Poe
Finding Lenore....
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02/13/17
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The Meaning of Ginger
The Winter Solstice
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02/01/17
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A Lesson of Life
Learned from a Cockroach
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01/04/17
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Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady
It Is All About Determination
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01/02/17
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Mentor Tell You Something About You
The Value of Post-it Notes
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12/09/16
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Deplorable...
Defining the Definition
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11/25/16
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Roll Me Up
I Am Free to be Me at 73
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11/18/16
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The Lady, Bobby, and Bagan
Triangulation Process
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11/14/16
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On the Road Again...
Like a Gypsy
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11/07/16
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Dostoyevsky Danced with Death
As a Result, Became a Great Writer.
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11/02/16
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The Value of Grandchildren
Links to the Past and Future
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10/31/16
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A Bridge Too Far
Isn't Always the Case
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10/14/16
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GiGi's Psychoanalysis
Me and My Hauntings
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09/23/16
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Why Do I Care?
More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care?
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09/16/16
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Moh Moh Spoke
And She Sounded Like Don Quixote
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09/09/16
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Return to Myanmar
Dream Big
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09/02/16
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Listening to My Mentors
And Dreaming Impossible Dreams
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08/19/16
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Bobby Kennedy
Still Reaches Out to Us.
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07/29/16
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The Queen's Haunting...
Bohemian Rhapsody
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07/27/16
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My Love Letters
They Must Be Written
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07/22/16
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We Shall Overcome
A Belief Amid Darkness
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07/18/16
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Last Words
Or Don Quixote's Joists with Windmills
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07/04/16
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"I Come in a World of Iron...
To Make a World of Gold."
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06/27/16
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The Thinkers Three
Jack, Owen, and Me
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06/06/16
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The Value of My Hauntings....
It Forces the Issues
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06/03/16
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Master Kong Said...
Don't Remember Being Wronged
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05/16/16
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Kelly, My Hair Dresser
And Her Mind
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05/13/16
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Mr. Turner
The Dualism of Feelings
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05/06/16
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The Third Dance
Apparently Was a Misstep
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04/27/16
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The Relationship Between Death and Life
Death Can Cause Us to Live Life
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04/25/16
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How to be Smarter
Than We Think We Are
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04/18/16
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I am Don Quixote
But I Am Not from La Mancha
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04/15/16
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Maude Adams
Found Somewhere in Time
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04/13/16
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In My Life
I'll Never Lose Affection for People and Things
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04/11/16
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Worthless Windmills
Time Will Tell Their Worth
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04/01/16
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Learning from My Mentor
A Knight-Errant On His Deathbed
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03/28/16
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Aladdin's Lamp
A Journey from Göreme to Crown Point
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03/25/16
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I Want to Have Dinner for Two
A Date and Someone Who Has Done the Dance
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03/23/16
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Einstein's Other Theory
From a Genius
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03/18/16
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Could I Have This Dance...
For the Rest of My Life?
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03/11/16
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Alex Failed...
But Danced On.
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03/09/16
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What Drives Me?
And the Answer Is....
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03/07/16
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Grave or No Grave
That is the Question
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02/22/16
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The Value of Dreaming
About My List of Dulcineas
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02/12/16
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Somewhere in Time
The Importance of Memories
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02/04/16
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Talking with Vincent
About Life and Art
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01/27/16
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A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination
Don't Miss Your Destiny
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01/20/16
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"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun."
Randy Pausch is Correct
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01/15/16
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The Gift of an Angel
It is More About My Feelings
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01/06/16
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Don Quixote
Then and Now
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11/04/15
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Some People Feel the Rain
Others Just Get Wet.
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03/16/15
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Looking Back and Forward...
While Singing "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
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04/12/13
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