WHAT HISTORY TELLS US

Carolyn and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving—just the two of us. Carolyn prepared a terrific turkey—meals for a week. We were thankful. We’ll remain so. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 horror, history gives us good reason. In 1918, the Spanish flu broke out. San Francisco required facemasks and imposed a $5 fine on violators. The Anti-Mask…

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LIFE IN THE BUBBLE

After Donald Trump won the presidency, many San Franciscans declared, “We should have seen this coming. But we live in a bubble. We didn’t know what people out there were thinking.” They were right. And they were wrong. A bubble around San Francisco? Not all San Franciscans live in mansions and luxury condos, dine at…

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NATURE’S REVENGE

Carolyn and I recently took our son Aaron’s dog Saffy for a walk near our house. In front of the Presidio Landmark apartments  (in the Presidio National Park), we spotted an interesting dog. Well, Carolyn thought it was a dog. I knew what it really was. Coyotes started popping up in San Francisco a decade…

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM—A FABLE

I was walking on Fillmore Street when I saw a middle-aged man in a crimson ball cap bent over, his hands on his knees. A woman was comforting him. “You okay?” I asked. The man turned towards me. His cheeks were as crimson as his University of Alabama cap. “Never should’ve come to San Francisco,”…

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TWO WOMEN IN BLUE

I recently met two women I can associate with my favorite color, blue. The very different experiences pointed out the fragility of human nature and the ways in which our society struggles to achieve the ideal of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Last Friday night, I took the bus home after Shabbat services…

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