Sep 22
In my studies of the Western Abenaki dialect of the Algonkian language, I came across a memorable word that I can use to describe myself (and my cohort of poker players). Pôzidôkiwi pronounced ~ pon-zee-DON-kee-wee It means “over the hill” — and the “wi” ending identifies its use as an adverb. Tôni alosaan? Nd’elosa pôzidôkiwi. …
Feb 09
Joy and Sorrow Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran Barack My 17-year-old cat Barack …
Nov 28
Barack has been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma. The story of how he came to me, and how he received his name, is for another time. For now, I have been reflecting on our friendship of more than 12 years. As I write this, he is still vibrant, active, and loving. I know his days are …
Aug 10
I found this page floating around. I think I must have pulled it from a file to share a copy with someone about my time in Japan. Now I don’t remember if the “2” at the bottom of the page is really an indication of this being the second page of a letter from my …
Jan 20
Here is a list of links to the slides I used in my classes, as well as various blog posts, articles, and other resources that have been referenced during my lectures, or mentioned in my emails to the OLLI students, or that came to mind as I was preparing this list. Background Here is a …
Nov 18
… only a carefully designed mechanism for redistribution can compensate for the natural tendency of wealth to flow from the poor to the rich in a market economy. Is Inequality Inevitable? The “natural tendency” mentioned here ^ is the hypothetical outcome of a random process. It is remarkable that, in a market economy, although there …
Nov 02
Two and a half years have passed since I lost one of my best ever friends, Scott Edward Davis, to heart failure. I have finally been able to pull myself together enough to collect some photos and to relate some memories. I’ll start with a copy of his obituary and some photos I came across. …
Aug 12
I gladly accepted an invitation to participate in a panel discussion on Civic Engagement for the OLLI University Day program on August 15, 2019. Here is a link to the Panel Presentation Outline I prepared for the program. I was allotted five minutes to share my thoughts before entering into the panel discussion. This post …
Apr 24
This post is a conglomeration of lecture notes, slides, and other information. I compiled all of this as part of my preparation for my OLLI course on Berkshire History, in which I talked about six different preserved properties that all have walking/hiking trails on them. An overview of the course can be found here. From …
