Actions make a real American (as published in the Tampa Tribune)
Does anyone know anymore just what makes an American … an American? Americans used to be everyday action heroes – a nation, once, of people who worked hard, saved for luxuries, ate meals together, and air-dried their laundry.
A prayer for the living
As published in the Tampa Tribune May 26, 2008. It’s Memorial Day, and I don’t have anyone to remember. No one close to me has died in the service of our country. I don’t even personally know anyone who is currently being paid to protect, fight, and possibly die for his or her country. But […]
Pint-sized philosophy
As published in the Tampa Tribune March 17, 2008. The Irish have been known to knock out a poem or two (think Seamus, Oscar, Van). Poetry, which for me is just another form of philosophy, is in their blood it seems, and while I’ve been known to wax poetic, I’m neither Irish nor poet. But […]
A Season for Believing
As published in the Tampa Tribune November 21, 2007. Years ago, late on a Sunday afternoon, I found myself sitting in my favorite café in the North End of Boston, calculating whether to buy another cappuccino or save the few dollars I had in my pocket for subway tokens to get back and forth to […]
One Thomas Harassment Story Begats Another
As published in the Tampa Tribune October 11, 2007 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a new book out and is talking trash about Anita Hill. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is in the hot seat for hurling names and unwanted attentions at a top Knicks female executive.
Sarasota’s All-America City Quest
This column appeared in the Pelican Press newspaper, June 29, 2006. Sarasota County was recently designated an “All-America County.” County Commission Chairman David Mills, quoted on the County’s website, predicted this recognition would have “long-lasting effect on the Sarasota community.” And County Administrator Jim Ley, quoted in a June 8 Sarasota Herald-Tribune article by Doug […]