Category: Uncategorized
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Some of you may recall that I posted earlier about living with chronic pain and the ways in which it can circumscribe your life, despite the accommodations you make. After exhausting every available conservative treatment—PT, aqua and massage therapy, spinal injections, a chiropractor, acupuncture, and a minimally invasive endoscopic foraminotomy—I had a multi-level spinal fusion…
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I drove my sister-in-law for her radiation treatment last week. As we were making our way up to the Dana Farber Oncology and Radiation clinic, she remarked on the number of white cars on the road. She’s always been fascinated by that. Once she mentioned it, it was hard not to notice every time we…
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I used to team teach with two dear colleagues, Stephanie Boeninger, who teaches literature, and Licia Carlson, who teaches philosophy. I was the historian on the CIV team. Our class was part of a four-course sequence on the Development of Western Civilization that was a core requirement for all students at Providence College. Licia assigned…
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Joni Mitchell released an article back in the 1970s entitled, “The Hissing of Summer Lawns.” I once heard an interview with Mitchell in which she said she was influenced by the sound of suburban lawns being watered. She blends in jazz elements that highlight her lyrical critique of the blandness of suburbs, especially the lives…
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I am a competent photographer, but I am not an artist although I am working on developing my artist’s eye. I try to convey the beauty or tell a story with my pix. This morning we floated down the Snake River. It was raining and much colder than the warm weather we had been enjoying…
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We had planned to rendezvous-vous with our friends in West Yellowstone and discovered two very important caveats. Mileage is not just a number. We took the scenic route to West Yellowstone via the Bear Tooth Highway that winds from Cody,WY to Cooke City, MT to the Northeast entrance to the park. It is the highest…
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I have become obsessed with agriculture. Yesterday we drove more than 500 miles across southern Minnesota, a regional economy based on agriculture and ag related businesses. If you’ve never been on the Great Plains, it will be hard for you to imagine the fields of crops extending to the horizon, dotted occasionally by dairy farms…
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We were slow getting started yesterday morning; but once we did, we drove for hours as we left Ohio and entered Indiana. Fields of corn and other grains stretched as far as the eye can see in both directions for miles and miles. It was a beautiful summer day and the large irrigation structures looked…
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Throughout the first half of the 19th century, pundits advised American men (and their women when applicable) to go west, where the land and its resources presented endless possibilities. It was the place where one could start anew. It is a foundational myth of American history. Deadwood Dick, one of the most iconic dime novels,…
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Our flat is located in Shoreditch in East London. While parts of it have been gentrified, it also has many ethnic enclaves. Every neighborhood has its distinct culture and flavor. Finding a good grocery store, wine store, pharmacy, and hardware store are all part of the fun (and challenge) of living abroad. While these may…