Veterans History Project collects stories
Major historical events like war or military service make a lasting impact on family identity, values and traditions, often reverberating across multiple generations. Throughout the 20th century, entire families felt the effects of war firsthand, with multiple generations serving. Brothers enlisted together. A father’s military legacy inspired his children to join up. Sweethearts met... READ MORE
Come on, were you really at Woodstock?
You know what they say about death and taxes, and they’re right. But two other things are inevitable for we graybeards of today. We will meet someone who claims to have been at Woodstock in 1969. And we will meet someone who claims to have attended the perfect game that Don Larsen pitched in the 1956 World Series. The other day, I notched a two-fer — a guy with a badly receding ... READ MORE
Books illuminate America’s 250 years
Both by design and by accident, error and ignorance have skewed our understanding of America’s past. On our nation’s 250th anniversary, these books correct distortions, dispel myths and fill in gaps. A Terrible Intimacy: Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South, by Melvin Patrick Ely, MacMillan 2026, 368 pages For more than 100 years the Lost Cause myth of Civil War history... READ MORE
Pippin shimmers at Signature Theatre
In Signature Theatre’s current production of Pippin, the actors are so near that you can feel a breeze when they execute their death-defying choreography. Directed by Matthew Gardiner, Signature’s lauded artistic director, and choreographed by Rachel Leigh Dolan, the Tony Award-winning musical takes on a magical intimacy. The 1972 Broadway musical Pippin is a medieval play within a... READ MORE
Ann Patchett publishes new feel-good novel
At 62, Ann Patchett is the rare and fortunate writer whose words resonate among friends and strangers alike. She owns one of the country’s signature independent bookstores, Parnassus Books in Nashville, with customers ranging from local book lovers to Tom Hanks. She’s also a popular and prize-winning novelist whose new books are inevitably among the year’s most anticipated, and whose ... READ MORE
We can learn about resilience from three books
These days, some of us may find ourselves increasingly overwhelmed, trying to keep our families secure, economically and perhaps even physically. Three recent books — two memoirs and a history — show that with luck, pluck and collective imagination, we can prevail. Misunderstood: A Memoir, by Allen Iverson and Ray Beauchamp, 352 pages, Gallery/13A, 2025 Local basketball fans remember ... READ MORE
When adult children can’t let go of grief
There was Doug, at a charity golf event, whacking woods off a practice tee. His shots looked great. He did, too. He smiled broadly when I shook his hand. He said his business was in fine hands — those of his adult sons. At 65, he told me, his health was excellent, his bank account was stuffed and his house was paid for. And then, the bomb: “I’m seeing someone,” Doug said. Until... READ MORE
Should you reveal health history on a date?
Q: I’m 66 and have been widowed for five years. I haven’t had much luck with online dating sites and actually had one particularly bad date. But my real question is how to reveal my breast cancer history, which required a mastectomy 12 years ago. I was not a candidate for breast reconstruction. You can hide the loss of a breast in photos and even when clothed, if you try, but I... READ MORE
Gospel radio hosts boost station ratings
One of the top radio stations in the nation’s capital region is WHUR, 96.3 FM, according to Nielsen ratings during the first quarter of this year. While the Howard University-owned station has perennially enjoyed high marks as an urban contemporary station, playing secular R&B, jazz and soul music, its gospel programming also manages to earn a significant share of advertising... READ MORE
Studio Theatre’s madcap comedy stirs hope
The 1961 play Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch skewers racism with humor and a plot that the Marx Brothers would approve. The 2023 Broadway revival was nominated for six Tony Awards. Every actor in Studio Theatre’s current production, directed by award-winning director Psalmayene 24, brings their A-game to the table. The dapper and smooth-talking Purlie ... READ MORE
