The Company You Keep
Since early spring, I’ve been keeping company with the work of some great writers. I began in early April by re-reading one of the great novels ever written (in my opinion)—Philip Roth’s Everyman. This meditation on aging and death was as rewarding the second time as it had been back when it was new. I…
Read MoreHail and Farewell To Another Great Class
My class at University of Texas at Dallas ended a couple of weeks ago. I’ve just finished reading all the final papers and posting the final grades. Since the Honors College has been kind enough to ask me to teach again next spring, I will soon begin thinking about revising the syllabus, adding or subtracting…
Read MoreThe Magic of Music, and How It Happens
The band that I play in—The April First Band—played a gig yesterday. It was a brunch benefit for a community nonprofit in Denton, Texas, a great music town that we’ve played once before. It is always a privilege to play in Denton, and especially nice to do a benefit for a worthy cause. And, given…
Read MoreWhat A Week It Was
Last weekend, I departed on a trip that combined work with play, although the use of the word “work” is a stretch. I was returning to my alma mater, the University of Virginia, to deliver two lectures, so I guess I was working, but I take so much pleasure in talking with students about the…
Read MoreWell…..
I thought I was back, but apparently, I wasn’t. At the new year, after a fairly long break, I thought I’d return to somewhat regular blogging, but it hasn’t happened, and there must have been reasons for that. I’ve kept up my resolution, recording daily how I’m doing with eating, exercise, gratitude, generosity, compassion, and…
Read MoreMy Best Resolution Yet
I love New Year. Not New Year’s Eve, I outgrew that long ago, and now struggle to stay awake until the Times Square ball drops, one time zone ahead of me. No, I like the sense of renewal that New Year’s brings. I make resolutions, and like nearly everyone, find them very difficult to keep. …
Read MoreWhere Ya Been?
I have received several kind queries lately, asking about my absence from this site as well as from social media. There are several reasons for that, including my belief that publishing the mundane aspects of one’s life are not only of limited interest, but could be construed as arrogance, as if my life were so…
Read MoreMy Heritage (with a little history thrown in)
I was raised in Virginia, in the city where the confederate battle flag was created, a city steeped in the Civil War, where as a young teenager, I found a cannonball in my front yard with a metal detector. I grew up familiar with the N-word and N-jokes, with very few African-American families and no…
Read MoreA Personal History
I am fortunate enough to have had amateur genealogists in my family, on both sides, so I know a fair bit of my factual, verifiable history, which I want to share so that my subsequent thinking about the current battle over symbols, history, and heritage can be put into context. My great-great grandfathers both fought…
Read MoreStories and Fiction and Truth
I’ve already said that history contains the word “story,” and most people think stories are “made up,” as opposed to the truth, which is, well, the truth. Let’s try to clear this up a little. Story is what we think is a uniquely human (I say think because I swear I’ve seen animals, including my…
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