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On Leading Horses to Water
I have this unique gift. I know what’s best for everybody except, perhaps, myself. At least, that’s the reality I choose to live in much of the time. It’s really easy to look at people’s lives from the outside and come up with quick and easy solutions for them, isn’t it? The real challenge is…
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Take Your Marbles and Go Home
Dear President Trump: Are you having fun yet? Are you getting tired of winning? Because you seem to be spending a lot of time in a rage or attempting to defend yourself. And not a day goes by when someone isn’t either criticizing you or making fun of you in some way or another. Whether…
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El Primero
I always get goose bumps when I have a brush with history. I just had one on my drawbridge. I opened for a gorgeous old yacht called El Primero. It’s not in the best shape. It needs work. But considering it was built in 1893, I think it has aged rather well. And this isn’t…
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Ruins Before They Were Ruins
Many years ago I had the good fortune to travel through Turkey. That country was a crossroads of waves upon waves of various cultures, and because of that it has an incredible amount of ancient ruins. There are so many Roman pillars, Lycian tombs, gateways of Hittites, Persian and Seleucid cities, Ottoman palaces, Greek theaters,…
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A Hitch in My Giddy-Up
Yep. I’m getting old. I have slight arthritis in my hips, and some mornings it feels as though they’re not going to support my weight for a few seconds there. Rather than a morning smoker’s hack (the sound of my mother’s made me a nonsmoker for life), I have a morning hobble and groan. I’ve…
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What is Cool?
I just saw a video of a woman who looks to be about my age. She’s playing the drums. That’s putting it mildly. She’s playing “Wipe Out.” She’s freakin’ rocking that song. I mean… damn. I want to be her best friend. She’s not dressed cool. She’s wearing a pink golf shirt and some shorts.…
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Spring is in the Air
I’ve been feeling restless of late. I want to get out and explore. I want to go places and do things. I want to have some fun. I want to go zip lining! I want my life to begin again. The problem is, the weather is still crap. Sometimes I think if I don’t see…
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Compassion
Compassion, defined as the “sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings and misfortunes of others,” is something you either have or you don’t. At this moment in history, perhaps more than any other, it is obvious that no fence-sitting on this issue is acceptable. Pick a side. Own it. One shouldn’t have to have experienced…
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My Pussy Hat
Ever since the Women’s March on Washington the day after the pussy-grabber’s inauguration, pink “pussy hats” have sort of become a thing. It’s a woman’s way of saying, “Yep. I have one. You have a problem with that?” Seeing that sea of pink hats on the Mall, the largest protest in the history of the…
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It’s Normal to be One of a Kind
Many of us, especially when we’re young, try desperately to “fit in”. We want to be like our peers. We don’t want to be an outcast or an oddball. It feels much safer to graze with the herd rather than blaze one’s own trail. It’s also quite common for us to pigeonhole other people; fit…