Category Archives: Culture

When I was a kid, I loved the Etch-A Sketch, probably because I lacked skills and no matter how badly I messed up the picture, I could give it a few shakes and start fresh. There was always hope for … Continue reading →

My two brothers were older and bigger, but that did not keep me from harassing them. I would pester them, sneak up on them, spy on them, throw pillows at them and thump them on the head and run. Eventually … Continue reading →

And now General Petraeus, a four-star general, former commander of American forces in Afghanistan, former director of the CIA. Really? As another adulterer bites the dust and joins the ranks of Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Tiger Woods, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, … Continue reading →

As a thinking exercise, I sometimes ask whether it would be wrong to be a one-issue voter if the issue were slavery. In his debate with Lincoln, Douglas argued an essentially pro-choice position: let the southern states decide whether and … Continue reading →

Every year I get to teach Beowulf in my English literature course. I have grown to love it and I have learned several lessons from it: 1)      If it’s not one thing, it’s a mother. Beowulf kills the monster Grendel … Continue reading →

A few years back I had a student with a number of Egyptian symbols tattooed on her arms.  When I asked her about one of the symbols, she explained that it represented the Egyptian god Isis and then added, “I … Continue reading →

Over the years I have spent most vacations camping on the Oregon coast and now live about 30 minutes from the beach so I get to spend a lot time on the beach. But Oregon beaches are different from those … Continue reading →

Many years ago my left foot brushed the head of a copperhead coiled in a spot of sun. My brother Stanley and I were hiking a trail at Monkey Mountain nature preserve outside of Kansas City. Because it was still … Continue reading →

This afternoon Teckla and I took off to the beach at Seven Devils Wayside. A steady and cool breeze had swept away the clouds and fog of recent weeks. The sky was a shimmering light blue. The late afternoon sun … Continue reading →

Many of my students have writtten with great certainty that since many people follow different morals, there must not be a single right moral standard. This is like observing that everyone is driving different speeds on the freeway so there … Continue reading →