Blog
Hey, it’s me, Old Glory aka the Stars & Stripes. With July Fourth coming, I’ve got three important things to say. First: I’m proud that the nation will celebrate its 247th birthday. Many countries have been around longer. Real democracies? We took the first plunge. Second: That said, I could dodge America’s problems, take the…
Pride Weekend has arrived in San Francisco. People often misuse the word pride. As the father of three sons—straight, trans and gay, I have my own take. LGBTQ people say they’re proud to be gay. Likewise, many folks are proud of their ethnicity. Given a world that often persecutes minorities, I get it. But that can…
Last Sunday, Carolyn and I tuned in—late—to Broadway’s Tony Awards TV show. When the nominees for Best Play were announced, I was certain one show had no chance. Of the five nominees, Leopoldstadt, by Tom Stoppard, presented a multi-generational Jewish family’s experiences in Vienna from 1899 to 1955. These included discussing escape plans following Nazi Germany’s…
Texas’ House recently ended its biennial session considering—but not voting on—a Senate-passed bill. It would require all Texas public-school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments. This is as troubling as it is unsurprising. Said Texas State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R), “There is absolutely no separation of God and government, and that’s what these bills are…
My 2014 post, “Street Games of the ’50s,” presented outdoor games kids played in New York City. But could we entertain ourselves indoors before the advent of video games? We didn’t have even Pong or Frogger, but we had imagination. And maybe a touch—I’m talking boys now—of stupidity. For instance, we did tumbling in junior high P.E.,…
From November 1966 through May 1967, I attended Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. On May 11, Fort Benning disappeared. It wasn’t a casualty of Congressional budget cutting but a tribute to decency. Few candidates knew that the post was named for Henry L. Benning, a Confederate brigadier general. It’s hard to square…
Some people believe that racism in the United States is dead. Others, it never really existed. Still others, if racism lives, mention of it divides Americans between oppressed and oppressors. The result? Books are being tossed off library shelves or censored before they get there. Take Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura,…
Jesus preached a version. Hillel said it before Jesus. But Hillel was picking up on the Torah. Still, after 2,000 years and more, many people don’t have a clue. Americans of all faiths are familiar with the injunction of Leviticus 19:18—”Love your neighbor [sometimes translated fellow] as yourself.” This seemingly simple verse poses complex challenges, starting…
Last Monday night/Tuesday, Jews observed (not celebrated) Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—on the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. After World War Two, Jews insisted, “Never again!” Israel built a military to defend the Jewish State. It’s what’s happening in America that disturbs me. Carolyn and I didn’t do anything formal for Yom HaShoah. We discuss…
Tuesday night, I went with a friend to the Giants’ 5-0 win over the Dodgers at Oracle Park. The new nature of baseball suggested that something can be done about mass shootings. As a kid in the 50s living in New York, I went to Yankees, Giants and Dodgers games. They lasted about two-and-a-half hours.…