Hi. Haven’t done much here in awhile…
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Auntie Lin
In the summer of 1987, when I was nine years old, my dad taught me the breast stroke in the cool, clear water of a flooded limestone quarry. My mom taught me how to make meatballs, standing on a chair next to the stove. My Aunt Linda, on the other hand, taught me how to…
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Skiing Lessons
Learning to ski has shown me a metaphor for living as a conscientious adult in a world filled with risk. The first thing one learns is to stand on the skis and balance. But this is not skiing. Then one learns to move on the skis. But this is not skiing either. Learning to stop…
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Digging for Diamonds
It was a little over a year ago that my shovel hit this old hunk of metal in the backyard. It does not have mounting holes and so it is not a license plate. It does not have an address that is found in this neighborhood and so it is likely not a house placard.…
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Let Ray Play
I don’t like Ray Rice. He is a cry-baby on the field, and he played for the Baltimore Ravens, a team that all Bengals fans in all of Bengaldom the world over are sworn to despise with the same vitriol that we despise the Pittsburgh Steelers. To make matters even worse, he’s a wife-beater too.…
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Slow-roasted Turkey Was a Success
For Thanksgiving dinner, I practice strict adherence to a certain set of rules, all of which stem from the Prime Directive: make everything from scratch. This means that there shall be no pre-made pie crust, no boxed stuffing, no pre-blended seasonings, and no canned anything (especially not cranberries). These rules are intended to produce the…
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The Berlin Wall
Condensed into a 2-minute comment, and delivered at a special streetcar hearing in Cincinnati Council Chamber today: 50 years ago, John F Kennedy praised the accomplishments of post-war Germany, saying that “the true German miracle has been your rejection of the past for the future–your reconciliation with France, your participation in the building of Europe, your leading…
Got any book recommendations?