A season for thanks
I grew up in Texas, where the seasons were not all that distinct. Sure, the days got shorter in the fall, and many trees lost their leaves.But I find autumn much more tangible here. There’s a change in the air and in the way you feel when you walk outside.It’s almost as if the change in seasons represented a change in seasonings: there’s a different flavor to life, and a... READ MORE
Get expos-ed in October
While the month of May is known as U.S. Older Americans Month, the month of October is the metro area’s Month of 50+Expos.Over a 10-day period this October, there will be 5 days of entertaining and informative events within easy driving distance of Howard County residents who are over 50 or love someone who is.The first such event happens Friday, October 17, right here in Howard... READ MORE
A very special woman
Editor’s note: Just five months ago, my dear father passed away at the age of 93. In this space in the April Beacon, I ran the eulogy that I gave at his funeral.Little did we know that the stubborn cough my Mom had at Dad’s funeral was apparently the same pneumonia that he died of, and she recently succumbed to it and its complications as well. I did not expect to be writing... READ MORE
Awesome subjects
Expressing awe at anything nowadays makes one appear to be a simpleton, or at the very least, uncool.Of course, my children and their friends say “awesome” at almost any expression of good fortune. But I still think true awe — expressing amazement, wonder or astonishment at something — is a sentiment we are expected to keep under wraps, in favor of a more... READ MORE
Is everybody happy?
When I was in high school, in the early 1970s, the comic strip “Peanuts” was deeply into the “Happiness is...” craze, which, I think, its creator Charles Schulz may have launched. Day after day, the popular strip would present another answer to the question “what is happiness?” by providing a different ending to the phrase, “Happiness... READ MORE
Privacy for sale
There was a time we spoke about our “right to privacy” or our “reasonable expectation of privacy” as though we understood what those phrases meant. It was a given of American values that every individual had a fundamental right to be left alone to pursue his or her own form of happiness as long as the rights of others were respected.There was a whole realm of private ... READ MORE
Once more, with feeling
Those of you who have been reading my monthly column for a few years know that I occasionally write about my parents’ experiences with healthcare, finances, moving and the like.You also know that my father, may he rest in peace, died a few weeks ago, just shy of his 94th birthday, and that my 84-year-old mother has moved to this area from Texas to be near my brother and me.The first... READ MORE
A man of valor
Editor’s note: Some readers may remember my columns about my parents’ transition to assisted living. I am sad to say that my father, Leonard Rosenthal, passed away in Austin, Texas, on March 5. This month, in lieu of my usual column, I would like to share the tribute I gave at his funeral.Our dad was a first-born son, and perhaps partly due to that fact, he was a leader —... READ MORE
Feeling vulnerable
Every day, more aspects of our lives become intertwined with the Internet, and things we take for granted grow more dependent on its ground and satellite infrastructure.Consider our telephone, email and text conversations, our air traffic control, our national defense (the military now guides many of our troops and even airplanes remotely), and our businesses. Many elements of... READ MORE
The power in numbers
Among the truest truisms are the statements: “there is power in numbers,” and “the pen is mightier than the sword.”History offers ample examples. The problem is that those examples may illustrate successes by what we (or others) might consider good or moral causes, as well as successes by what we (or others) might consider bad or immoral causes.Not so long ago in... READ MORE
