The End of Empire In the Fourth Century A.D. what had one day been the glory of the Republic of Rome and had become the Holy Roman Empire and would further become the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire (run from Constantinople) before it finally passed into history under the sword of the Ottoman Empire, was overrun by Goths and Huns. The general historical consensus is that the Roman Empire we all know from our Western…
Of Rocks & Trees and Citrus & Quail The world is in a funny place right now. I spoke to a friend of mine who lives in Vancouver. He reads my blog so I expect he will recognize himself. I recently called him. I spent four years on his board of directors. The company was a small public company traded on the LondonStock Exchange. We spent most of our time trying to figure out how…
Upbeat Yes, I read the monthly AARP newsletter. There, I said it and I’m proud of it. I always used the excuse that I consider myself a retirement professional since I taught a pensions course for ten years at Cornell and I wrote a book called The Global Pension Crisis in 2013, which got reasonably well-read and even cited academically in the field (my academic claim to fame). However, I also read the AARP newsletter…
Seeking Certainty The word from the White House today, in the face of the dramatic increase in infections in 30+ states (to over 50,000 on both Thursday and Friday), is that we will simply need to learn to live with the virus and carry on. This is the latest in Trump’s deadly blunders on behalf of the American people. The worst part of that is that it is not for want of good scientific and…
The Morning After Sitting outside, starring at our front door, are seven little critters, birds to be precise, who are wondering what’s next for me and Kim. They are a roadrunner that looks like Snoopy’s Woodstock. There is an owl who looks like Owl Jolson from Looney Tunes who likes to “Singa…..Like a moon and a June in the Springa”, There is a Hawk that looks regal, but ever so menacing as he sails across…
We Laugh and We Cry Kim’s best friend Cecil died this morning. He had a heart condition for some years and despite Kim’s best efforts to medicate him, exercise him, cook healthy fresh food for him, and brushing his teeth every evening to keep the plaque monster at bay, he still died. We can’t be sure, but the very empathetic vet who cared for him in his last hour said he believed it was his…
We Laugh and We Cry Kim’s best friend Cecil died this morning. He had a heart condition for some years and despite Kim’s best efforts to medicate him, exercise him, cook healthy fresh food for him, and brushing his teeth every evening to keep the plaque monster at bay, he still died. We can’t be sure, but the very empathetic vet who cared for him in his last hour said he believed it was his…
He Made Me Laugh He was not 2,000 years old, but only 98. He did not invent the cure for cancer or climate warming. He did not lead the nation through a devastating war. He did not make any big feature award-winning films or wright Top-40 songs. He did not run for or hold any grand public offices. He did father one of the great movie-makers and TV sitcom stars of our age in Rob…
Water, Water Everywhere Samuel Taylor Coleridge went on to say, “Nor any drop to drink”, in his famous The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner poem. It is the story told by a sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage as told to a stranger wherein the tale rambles through all the sensations of storytelling by invoking exhilaration, danger, boredom, serenity, and abject feelings of doom. My last name always drew me to the…
Succulentamentality Succulence is said to be tender, juicy and tasty. But succor is about help when in distress, of military reinforcements and of giving aid especially to those who need it the most. The help it represents came from Latin, through French and into Middle English. Succulent plants are those which are engorged with water to last them for long periods of time in arid climates. They are by their very nature, drought resistant plants,…