Franke: Redeveloping our Socratic Skills
by Mark Franke Arthur Bryant: I miss the richness and clarity of our language. If you avoid argument and offense you never develop conversational skills. John May: That’s why you never stop talking. Arthur Bryant: I’ll be happy to discuss that with you. The dialog above, quoted from one of the weirdest fictional series ever Read the full article…
The Outstater
Goodbye, Dilbert THIS MORNING my egregiously silly local newspaper declared that it is taking a most serious stand on the highest moral ground. In a one-paragraph front-page notice it canceled the comic strip, “Dilbert.” The strip is drawn by Scott Adams, winner of the national Reuben Award for Best Newspaper Comic Strip. Adams made a comment that the editors Read the full article…
Moss: Winter, Desolation and Faith
by Richard Moss, M.D. This week’s forecast reminds us that the depths of winter are the bleakest of times, gray and fallow, the trees emptied of life, the wildlife desperate and sullen, the earth a crystalline tomb. The winter mires us and spreads its desolation before us. It sinks its fingers into our flesh, immobilizing us as Read the full article…
Morris: Deference, Sir, Is no Crime
by Leo Morris I was not raised to say “sir” or “ma’am,” so those words have never been part of my regular vocabulary, except for three years in the Army when they were forced on enlisted personnel as the required way to address officers. I say this without regret or pride. It’s simply a fact Read the full article…
The Outstater
Clothes Make the Man — Sad to Say I USED TO FOLLOW men’s fashions. I had learned to trust it as a barometer of the male zeitgeist and an indication of the national direction. Men’s fashion moved more slowly than women’s and was therefore the more predicting. This was a time, please know, when men still mattered — somewhat Read the full article…
Franke: a DAR Induction
by Mark Franke I am proud of my wife. Now that can be taken as a generalization, given that we have been married for more than 50 years. But in this instance it is very specific. Earlier this month she was inducted into membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). That is a Read the full article…
