In the beginning of an undertaking the level of enthusiasm is often the greatest. Energy, optimism, emotion and resolve are usually at their peak, fresh and intact regardless of motivation. The feeling of euphoria pervading all involved provides that essential element of group cohesion, that being a sense of common purpose. Purity of cause, hopes…
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Getting ourselves back to the garden
This has been not only a hot and humid summer of commemoration but also one of reflection, introspection and inventory of character and values, if not of the collective then certainly of the self. Once more I find myself seeking refuge from the oppressive heat while trying to retrieve as many of certain fleeting memories…
Continue ReadingTranquility Base + 50: The America of my youth.
The most unifying moment of the 20th Century was broadcast around the World live fifty years ago tonight. For a few days in July 1969, all members of the human species stood in awe of the most colossal undertaking in their collective history. That Sunday night, when Neil Armstrong climbed down onto the Lunar surface…
Continue ReadingAmerica at D-Day + 75
In the history of the Republic, June 6th has been an iconic date on the American calendar ever since General Eisenhower committed the Allied Forces to the invasion of Hitler’s Fortress Europe in 1944. Although the World has since turned over too many times to count, the spirit of unity of all serving in that…
Continue ReadingPunching above our weight
Most of us learned early the cruel reality that life is not fair. Circumstances and boundaries not of our making or choosing often dictate an arbitrary ceiling regarding our expected professional, social and political achievements. Be it tradition, privilege of birth or plain dumb luck, the bar to clear in order to succeed is not…
Continue ReadingResonating echoes of Nuremburg
One thing about ringing a bell is that is can never be unrung. As it cannot be unrung, it can also never be unheard. Its clear and clarion tone, once generated and once heard, will be forever remembered by all reached by its distinctive clang. This concept may be relatively easy to understand but I…
Continue ReadingIn praise of a necessary fixture
The preliminaries for the 2020 Presidential Primary race have begun and regardless of what any candidate for the Democratic nomination may be bringing to the table, the Presidential incumbent and his water carriers are standing by with appropriate colors and brushes at the ready to paint the winner as a Socialist! Uhhggg! How awful. Socialism,…
Continue ReadingUnderstanding an essential epiphany
I remember writing about the evolution of the human soul a few months ago and waxing philosophical on what a fascinating phenomenon it is to witness. It is the ability of men and women to evolve after reaching a point of enlightenment regarding basic characteristics of their own being that gives me a lot of…
Continue ReadingThe consequences of failed leadership
As America enters the fourth week of the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, any humor or levity that may have taken the edge off heretofore has long since evaporated. Those with the means to end this shutdown are, via their intransigence, beginning to do some very real harm to very many real people who…
Continue ReadingConcluding Volume 44
As 2018 drains away by the minute, I become ever more mindful of the usual milestone year-end promptings. This has become the inevitable time for me to look back on the year that was, or at least the things about it I saw fit to record in my own hand. Well, actually, in my own…
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