I turned 73 this week. I never thought I would reach it. However, by the grace of God, I’m still enjoying life. Birthdays for me are low key affairs. We get together with kids and grandkids for dinner, but with each passing year, I find time to think about my life, Read more…
I love spring. Most people do. Set aside the possibility of a late season cold or flu. I’ve had those in the April and May time frame, and they can knock you out and ruin balmy days, budding flowers, and blossoming trees. And yes, I also get hay fever—allergies more generally—and Read more…
There are things I just don’t understand. Among them is how my internet system works. Yes, I know that the internet connects me digitally to my email, google, favorite news sites, and topics related to my research. Mine broke this week, badly, sometimes ten times a day. For that reason, Read more…
It’s now evident to everyone—even those who can’t imagine it—that we’re headed for a rematch of the 2020 Presidential election. You may have wished for another result, but as the old Scottish proverb goes, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” And for those who lament the presidential candidates before Read more…
Since I often write about leadership in one form or another, I get much advice on that topic. In today’s profoundly divided political environment, I’m told that this or that person is a “real leader who will save America” or some other gargantuan claim that is also impossible. No one Read more…
Some years ago, I was speaking with a distinguished scholar and former university president. Over coffee he lamented, “Where are the Marshalls of today?” I knew to whom he was referring. General George Catlett Marshall, a 1901 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, former Chief of Staff of the Army, Read more…
Has anyone ever said to you that you have a blind spot? What does that mean? Literally a blind spot is (1) an area where a person’s view is obstructed or (2) an area in which a person lacks understanding or impartiality. I recently purchased a new car that deals Read more…
Here’s what’s on my mind today. Coffee I am a coffee lover. So is Shelley. And for those who love a cup first thing in the morning, the automatic brewer is a delight. We set ours before we go to bed for 6:00AM. That’s perfect. We’re early risers so when we Read more…
It was as prophetic as it was true when former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said of then Vice President Joe Biden, “I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” Those words have been borne out Read more…
It’s clear to me, as it should be to anyone, that 2024 will be a tumultuous time. To say that we are a divided nation would be—as we used to say in the Army—a BFO, that is, “a blinding flash of the obvious.” But it bears saying—or writing—that turbulence, discord, and Read more…