Authors

Jo Freeman Reviews: This “inside story of how Trump lost” the 2020 election shines a light on his entire presidency. Indeed, he filed papers for his re-election campaign the day he was inaugurated in 2017, so the two were never completely separate endeavors. TrumpWorld was a hornets’ nest. Everything revolved around the King Bee, as the worker bees tried to push, kick and sting each other to get close. ..." more »

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Among other things that have disappeared, along with traditional names, are virgin brides. Actually virgins — period. And brides in general. It seems that fewer and fewer couples are opting for marriage these days as “living in sin” apparently is either no longer considered to be a sin or nobody cares. And the few marriages that do take place often feature the couple’s children as ring bearers and flower girls. A popular inscription in the autograph books we all owned was “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes (fill in a name) with a baby carriage.” Not any more. Not in that order. And why do people need so much entertainment today? Case in point: I recently saw an ad for a waterproof radio with headphones to wear while surfing. Isn’t surfing enough? When I was young, sitting by the radio listening to “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy” or “Our Gal Sunday” was the highlight of my day. more »

Adrienne Cannon writes: I am thinking of the various trips I have taken as a solo traveler when I awaken in a strange location with no companion to talk to. Then I learned to quietly observe life around me (often quite different to my “American” background) even though I wasn’t part of it. Instead of feeling sad about my solitary state I began to treasure those calming moments of contemplation and observation. When I had to schedule appointments during pandemic lockdown and I was one of the few people in a pool, in a class, in the locker room or other places where few people were admitted at the same time, I began to understand that being solitary is not the same as being sad or lonely. In the past, I have made friends on those solo trips by reaching out after too much solitude. And so it seems during those lonely days I have made new acquaintances. They are often a little younger than I am and I happily call on them to join me in my active hours that sometimes outstrip the energies of many of my contemporaries. more »

Now those statues are coming down as the state religion is being dismantled. World history tells us that it takes about 150 years for major conflicts to be finally resolved. Descendants of two-sided wars continue to squabble for several generations before ceasing to see each other as the enemy. The North/South conflict followed that pattern. I know the country is highly polarized and that the South is mostly on one side of that polarization, but it looks like the Civil War of 1861 is finally ending. more »