Up and raring to go at the crack of dawn
It was 8 a.m. on the East Coast. I was poised over my computer keyboard, stuck for an answer to a student’s question. So I picked up the phone and called the guy who would know — a former colleague from ages ago who had become an expert in the appropriate field. He answered on the first ring. “Didn’t wake you, did I?,” I asked. “Are you kidding?,” he replied. ... READ MORE
Oh, the joys of grandparenting! And yet…
Out comes his smartphone. He scrolls, scrolls, scrolls. Finally, he gurgles with pleasure. There she is on the screen — his first grandchild, a continent away in Seattle, but front and center in his life. I gurgle along with him. Yes, she sure is beautiful. Yes, oh, yes, she clearly looks like the grandfather who is holding the phone. But what I’m really noticing is how jealous ... READ MORE
Why tall = small, and other conundrums
Sometimes, dear friends, we are plunged into modern-day situations that are so absurd, so illogical, so incomprehensible, so inexplicable, that all we can do is throw up our hands. So it went with me one recent morning at my neighborhood Starbucks. I had agreed to meet a friend there to give her some career advice. I was early. She wasn’t there yet. So I decided to buy a cup of... READ MORE
A 94-year-old American hero looks back
It’s about the size of a small pancake. It hangs around the man’s neck on a ribbon. “I use a lot of Brasso on it,” he jokes. He must, because it shines. And so does he. Hershel “Woody” Williams is 94 years old. He is one of 464 American soldiers to have received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary service during World War II. Only four survive. Williams is the oldest.... READ MORE
