“I’m always interested in what is seen as obscene or profane or unfit.” – Jenny Zhang

“Obscenity and profanity had no meaning as such among those people. They were emotional expressions of inarticulate people with small vocabularies.” – Betty Smith

As a young man, my husband loved to be outdoors. Nothing could stop him from climbing up, over or into things that sparked his curiosity or challenged him. One of his passions was spelunking, and for a couple of summers he’d spend weekends in caves, crawling through tunnels with the weight of the world just inches above his shoulders. While cave exploration was not a passion of mine, he was, so until nascent claustrophobia surfaced, I could be found crawling behind him, elbowing my way to caverns we had not yet seen. My father, insisting that it had taken men millions of years to emerge from the caves, couldn’t understand why anyone, much less his daughter, would want to return to them. He applauded progress and believed the survival of men, as well as sharks, depended on forward motion.

I recently read that 51% of Americans believe our culture and way of life have worsened since the 1950s. Continue reading “The F-Bomb” →

“What is all wisdom save a collection of platitudes? Take fifty of our current proverbial sayings—they are so trite, so threadbare, that we can hardly bring our lips to utter them. None the less they embody the concentrated experience of the race, and the man who orders his life according to their teaching cannot go far wrong. How easy that seems! Has any one ever done so? Never. Has any man ever attained to inner harmony by pondering the experience of others? Not since the world began! He must pass through the fire.” – Norman Douglas

I’m of the opinion that portions of our lives, certainly our manners and language, have coarsened over the past half century. If current culture could be viewed through the eyes of our ancestors, particularly those who worked so hard at gentrification, I suspect they would find current society to be crude and manner-less. In an article that appeared in Time magazine, Nick Gillespie pointed out that it’s difficult to challenge the idea that America has become far cruder over the last 30 years. He argued that the opening credits of shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians Continue reading “Platitudes” →

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell

Remember the sea shanty “Blow the man down?” Unfortunately, the two superheroes who ran into me yesterday missed the “pick him up” portion of the old ditty. The mall is crowded on Saturday, but on rainy days it becomes a de facto playground and the likes of the two Power Rangers who took me down aren’t an unusual sight. Fortunately, I was not hurt and able to right myself, but I was, to put it politely, miffed. Apparently, the actions of today’s superheroes are so mission specific that that the mess created in the wake of their pursuit of justice doesn’t count for much.

Those who are members of the Silent Generation will remember the days before television. Unless your parents were classics professors, there were few superheroes whose deeds could be followed. Superman and Batman appeared in the post-depression era of the late 1930’s. They were created as symbols of the power of men to overcome adversity, but their adventures had limited Continue reading “Captain Who?” →

““You cannot save everyone. Some people are going to destroy themselves no matter how much you try to help them.” — Bryant McGill

Sometimes the ties that bind – the shared beliefs or bonds that link us to one another – put us in moral or physical jeopardy. The severing of those ties, save for occasions of imminent danger, is usually the result of harrowing self-examination. That exam does little to assuage the guilt that comes when dealing with what others may see as a “betrayal” of family, friends or colleagues. The question, however, remains. Are those who sever ties with cause actually guilty of betrayal?

The answer to that is situational. It depends on what triggered the action and how the “betrayers” see the world and their place in it. I came to ask the question while reading an innocuous story about two sisters and how they survived the war in Nazi occupied France. The one, Continue reading “Stand By Me” →

“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. To get rid of what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful. Can you truthfully say that you treasure something buried so deeply in a closet or drawer that you have forgotten its existence? If things had feelings, they would certainly not be happy. Free them from the prison to which you have relegated them. Help them leave that deserted isle to which you have exiled them. Let them go, with gratitude. Not only you, but your things as well, will feel clear and refreshed when you are done tidying.” ― Marie Kondo

It’s not generally known that Eve had two daughters. Her favorite was compulsively neat while the other, Continue reading “KonMari….ing” →

“In order for a house to burn down, three things are required. The timber must be dry and combustive, there needs to be a spark that ignites it, and external conditions have to be favorable – not too damp, perhaps some wind. Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany provided the spark that set off the destruction we now call the Holocaust, and World War II created a setting conducive to brutality. However without the dry timber, mass murder on such a scale would not have been possible. People had to be prepared to accept the identification of other members of their society as enemies.” Doris L. Bergen

January 27th is designated by the United Nations General Assembly as International Holocaust Continue reading “UN Holocaust Remembrance Day” →

“It takes more than just awareness for us to change. It takes courage and humility and the willingness to occasionally feel like fools and laugh at ourselves.” – Bud Harris

“If you can’t laugh at yourself, you may be missing the colossal joke of the century.” – Barry Humphries

I hope you never go a day without laughing. I hope you’ve also developed the ability to laugh at yourself and share your Continue reading “Look Dick See Jane Lava Lady” →

“I fear the intolerance and prejudice is constantly growing. We have a disease. It’s Jap-baiting and hatred. You have a job on your hands to do to make a dent in it — but I don’t know a more challenging nor more important one. I went through an experience I’ll never forget when I was working on it and learned a lot, even if I accomplished nothing.” – Dorothea Lange

It’s been raining for the past several days. Not drizzling, mind you. I’m talking downpours that have a Noah, send the ark ferocity. While we have sun breaks, the rain is unpredictable and it makes planning outdoor activities, including exercise, feasible only for ducks.

This morning, I was up at first light. Continue reading “Fences and Internment” →

“There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.”

– Henry David Thoreau

I was 19 and sitting in a classroom off the Midway. The class was discussing happiness, the topic introduced by a visiting lecturer known to resent working with undergraduates. He began the session with a question. Are most people happy? The class fumbled, tossing thoughts around the room, not quite sure what he was looking for. He stopped us. Ladies and gentlemen, I want a simple yes or no. Our consensus was no. His was yes, but he did appended his thought. He believed that happiness was generally unrecognized because it was a state of mind that was taken for granted and overlooked Continue reading “The Pursuit of Happiness” →