Listen to the commentary   First uttered by four-year-old cultural philosophers: You’re not the boss of me! If you have kids, you’ve heard that reaction before, when you’re “laying down the law.” Most parents work to mature their kids beyond that first symptom of rebellion before they land in their first classroom. If not checked, […]

Listen to the commentary If you could see – with certainty – the future, would that foreknowledge affect what you do today, leading to that resolute tomorrow? Carl Sagan was an astronomer and educator known for connecting average people to science. He was able to communicate with millions of people through print and broadcast media;

Listen to the commentary   Why don’t you just tell people that you’re an atheist… and help us in reverse? Charlie “Tremendous” Jones was a good friend; he moved from Earth to Heaven about 14 years ago, in his 81st Year. His Career was in life insurance, but his Calling was to help people move

Listen to the commentary Birds of a feather flock together. I’ll bet you’ve heard that common wisdom before; in fact, I’ll bet you’ve even quoted it at appropriate moments. In that verbiage, it is an English proverb that reaches back 500+ years but has origins in ancient Greek and Roman citations. The underlying message: there’s

It’s to die for! These are days that are undeniably unprecedented. Some aspects of life have eroded on our watch; there’s an understandable lament that is shared in groans when we’re among like-minded friends who react to modern cultural life as it goes on around you. At the same time, some parts of the 21st

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… It was 45 years ago when Star Wars – the first release in what would become an international family of entertainment products – made that line an understood and oft-repeated introduction to a fantasy world far removed from the headlines of 1977, and every era

As pandemics go, the recent outbreak was/is of minimal historic importance. The condition that has spread – uncontrollably – among the American population is far more deadly: the incidence of foundational ignorance is widespread and appears to have no reversal in sight. No generation in history has received more education – at more expense – than today’s Americans. Boomers

That isn’t a birthday cake: it’s a brushfire. I mean, really: put 246 candles on anything and light them up. The smoke alarm will signal an evacuation order, and the party will be over before you a scoop the ice cream and pass out the spoons. It’s pretty much official: the Declaration of Independence was

Family rituals are seldom hammered-out in a strategic whiteboard session involving multiple generations. Most often, they are developed over time: a one-off becomes a rinse-and-repeat routine. When our kids were growing up, shopping lists produced jumbo-size selections. Between the girls and their friends, we were more likely to run out than to run over. Nowadays,

Alone. During the national shutdowns in 2020/21 – in response to the covid pandemic – millions of Americanas found themselves isolated within their homes. Many worked from home using digital connectivity but found themselves with large blocks of time to fill with something that would grab their attention and give some relief from the unrelenting