The kindness of strangers
Metro’s Red Line was a zoo tonight, with a 15-minute delay that caused throngs of people to crowd the stations and try to force their way onto train when it finally arrived. I decided to join a group...
View ArticleWhen in Rome…
In my experience, one of the essentials to travel or experiencing another person’s culture is to play by the rules. Or, as the old saying goes: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Ordinarily, I’m very...
View ArticleYou want me to drink that?
I’ve been fighting some kind of cold/sinus infection-thing for the last two weeks, and I’ve tried both Western (antibiotic) and Eastern (acupuncture and Chinese herbology) approaches to getting...
View ArticleIt worked
Drinking the starch made from kudzu root actually works. And with a dash of soy sauce, it doesn’t taste too bad, either!
View ArticleWhy so much hate for a family who tries to go green?
Last week, Penelope Green of the New York Times wrote a story about a family in Manhattan that is spending the next year in an experiment to see just how “green” they can be. Among the more sensational...
View ArticleObstacles (as in, herds of cattle) or opportunities?
People who have followed the evolution of my blog over the last few years know that I have mostly abandoned the snarky, complaint-of-the-day-type entries I used to write. While I’m no longer exercising...
View ArticleIt’s what makes America a great place
Like many people who live in this country, I sometimes struggle to see the things that make America a great nation. It isn’t the land of my childhood, where we all had hope and faith in the United...
View ArticleBack in the States, eh?
Completely uneventful trip home from Ontario today, thankfully. Though I can’t help but to share my encounter with the passport officer. Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that when we travel to Canada,...
View ArticleWhat is crazy, anyway?
My thoughts this morning when I awoke were of the Dalai Lama, who turns 72 today. This evening, I will join millions of people around the globe in offering prayers for His Holiness’ health and long...
View ArticleThinking about family trees…
Got an e-mail today from a distant relative who I’ve never met. He’s working on the family tree, and it made me think about the parts of mine that I know about. Meet my great-great-great-grandfather,...
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