After the snow-covered winter and the accompanying days off from school we had here in Boston, most school kids won’t be able to enjoy summer until nearly July. For many others, summer begins each year on Memorial Day weekend, but for me the start of my favorite season is several weeks before that. On one… Read More Blessing of the Bikes
Mike Rogers is a better person than me. I’ve never met him before, and if I was to trip over him I still wouldn’t have a clue who he was. Still, when I read his open letter to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, I couldn’t help but contrast his thoughts with… Read More A Marathon of Emotions
I don’t swear very often. As I used to tell my students, I think the use of vulgarity is the sign of a poor vocabulary. I still believe that, but there is also certainly something to be said for Mark Twain’s observation that sometimes “profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” Yesterday was one such… Read More How I Hope to Remember My First Boston Marathon
Madison. Hamilton. Adams. Dennis the Constitutional Peasant. The list of men who have contributed to our understanding of the ideal form of government is as long as it is distinguished. And, as the great sage of the muck has noted, “strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.… Read More Shaking up the Conclave
During the fiscal fiascos of the past couple years, both parties have seemed to enjoy seeing how close they can get us to the precipice without falling into the abyss. Then, upon reaching a deadline, rather than solve the problem they kick the can a little further down the road and impose yet another arbitrary… Read More Budgeting as if we were all responsible for all
Second of two parts Not so long ago, if a cop found you behind the wheel after you had a few too many, he would put you in the back of a cruiser and take you home. Today, however, that second car trip will almost certainly terminate at the local lockup, with a court date… Read More The Solution: A Culture of Success
First of two parts For most people I know, home movies from one’s childhood are a dreaded bore, and something to be avoided at all costs. For myself and the kids I grew up with, collectively known as the Madison Street Kids Committee, however, they are often the first thing we pull out when we… Read More The Problem: A Culture of Failure
Millennial 