Columns

The prestige of a three-drawer protractor

It was about this time of year that kids of my generation made our annual pilgrimage to the Five & Ten to pick out supplies for the new school year. It was a regular mini-adventure.

Dems hit a new low with convention speech

I watched the opening night of the Democratic National Convention because it was news, not because I was particularly interested in the outcome.

Earning the right to gripe

I cast my first presidential vote in 1952. It may have been illegal since I was only seven years old at the time, but the statute of limitations has probably run out by now.

Ray Bradbury: Something centenary this way comes

I was jealous of my wife a couple of years ago.
Our son’s sophomore English class read Ray Bradbury’s cautionary novel “Fahrenheit 451” and she found the time to read along.

The longer we’re isolated, the less productive we get

COVID-19 is getting old — particularly for employees who’ve been working from home for months.
That’s the finding of a Wall Street Journal article, “Companies Start to Think Remote Work Isn’t So Great After All.”

Is the 75th anniversary of V-J Day the last hurrah?

My first knowledge of the War in the Pacific probably came from then-new episodes of “McHale’s Navy” and the 20-year-old “Made in Occupied Japan” dishware that my mother collected.

School choice: Black children matter

One hundred sixty years ago America fought over slavery. Sixty years ago, America fought over black voter suppression. Today America is fighting over black education suppression.