In the Heat of the Night
In the Heat of the Night (1967) is one of my favorite films in general, my favorite film about race, and my favorite film about the South. As far as […]
“Take This Sabbath Day”
Something therapeutic about watching the first season of The West Wing during our national nightmare under Trump. “Take This Sabbath Day” is a beautiful story. It’s a story about the […]
Dos Passos in The New Yorker
What a splendid way to end the year! Yesterday, The New Yorker published a re-appraisal of John Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy. These “second reads” of his books are rare indeed […]
Fire and Ice
Last week, I got to thinking about Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” while I was at work on climate matters. Arctic melting, record high temperatures, Montana blizzard. It’s not […]
Nancy Hanks Lincoln
Working on a poem about Abraham Lincoln mourning his mother’s death. She died when he was a boy of 9. I get the fascination every writer/historian seems to get while […]
Apollo 11
Apollo 11, the documentary, was fascinating and put a smile on my face. I’m certainly not saying 1969 was the year the United States of America aged to perfection. Vietnam, […]
AOC and the Millennial Dilemma
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lives the dreams of many a millennial, waiting anxiously for their chance to lead. Many in the Baby Boom generation in America are refusing to cede power, time […]
John Dos Passos Reports at Nuremberg
Research for my speech has sharpened my appreciation for my grandfather’s prestigious reporting career. For example, Dos Passos’ observations of the Nuremberg trials in fall 1945. “Except for Hess, who […]
John Dos Passos and Democracy
“War is a time of Caesars,” wrote John Dos Passos in The Grand Design (1949). As I study biographical material for my Lisbon speech, I’m noticing material I can use […]
The Lawton Chiles Campaign Method
Rummaging through old files and came across an article in the Lakeland Ledger from 1975 describing a Lawton Chiles campaign kickoff at Bartow Civic Center. Featured at the kick off […]