Month: September 2018

So that was it.  I drove away under a halo of moon-drenched trees and lawns.  South Carolina was beautiful and the opportunity to come here has given me a look into a Southern culture that is charming and gracious.   For the first time I think I understand why the bitterness over the Civil War … Read moreI Will Never Forget South Carolina

I was walking around Clemson Stadium and noticed that the gates were all, named . . probably, after big donors.  I understand this from a university perspective . . it’s expensive to run big universities.  And, I can understand the memorialization of icons in the community . . the Neal Blaisdell Center, for example.  Does … Read moreAnybody Remember Neal?

Memorial Park at Clemson is really an inspiring place to be.  I walked there this morning.  It is across the street from the upper level of Clemson stadium, death valley to their football opponents,  and I read the inspiring messages and names of the soldiers from Clemson that embellish a stone barrier topped by a … Read moreMemorial Park

There is a little town called Vernon which sits about half the distance from Paris to the English Channel.  It is adjacent to Giverney, the famous home of Claude Monet . . and his water lilies. That day we were headed to see the famous gardens.  We passed through Les Andelys with the great expectation … Read moreVernon

I don’t understand why the Catholic church doesn’t just admit that it made a mistake and move on.  Isn’t that what confession is all about?  Well, perhaps there’s a higher standard for the clergy and the Pope.  Perhaps they have to think about the future of the church and its reputation.   But, without question, … Read moreMea Culpa

As I walked around campus today in my orange Clemson shirt I noticed that I wasn’t alone.  Perhaps 60% of the students, teachers and workers were wearing the Clemson colors and the bear paw that is iconic of Clemson (Tigers, of course).  It was ironic that I would never have been caught dead doing this … Read moreThe Cosa Nostra Is In The Air

I received a call some years ago that my mother was in a car accident near Queen Emma St. and Nuuanu, across from Central Intermediate School.  She was upset because she was just at Queens Hospital to hear the news that the pancreatic cancer had returned.  My mother was crying.  It was one of the … Read moreLife is Precious

One of my pet peeves is the deification of personalities who are really signposts.  The one which bothers me the most is the glorification of Steve Jobs.  If you read about his life, he was a poor husband and miserable father during the years when it really made a difference.  And, yet, we cannonize him, … Read moreSignposts Along The Road

OK.  So I had an Edward Albee moment today. It happened in the waiting room in Urgent Care.  I went to the desk.  There sat a red-haired, no nonsense and somewhat weather-beaten medical receptionist.  She pulled out my file, assembled a package,  and asked me to fill out some paperwork attached to a clipboard. I … Read moreAn Edward Albee Moment

I woke up the other night with a start.  I had a nightmare that I woke up and there was a giant cat looking at me.  And, then I remembered that I was at Kevin and Michael’s house for a few days waiting out the storm in South Carolina.  In the meantime, their four cats … Read moreI Don’t Want To Be Eaten by A Giant Cat