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At Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumincio Airport, having survived our 12-hour flight, emerging from baggage claim and customs and realizing there was no driver holding up a sign with our name to welcome us, John retrieved his printout from the shuttle service he had booked. Okay, we failed to read the complete message on our confirmation…
We trudged off the plane in Rome after a 12-hour flight, a bit disheveled and jet lagged, shuffled dutifully through zigzag lines to get our passports stamped, emerged into the terminal on a walkway lined by faces—drivers holding signs that named the travelers they were there to meet. We searched in vain for our names,…
How and why did an organization dedicated to limiting a woman’s right to control her own reproductive system—her own body—take the name of a woman whose lifelong commitment to women’s rights is legendary? I didn’t know the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) existed until I happened upon Mike Pence’s remarks at the luncheon last…
“Back in the olden days”…when I was a little girl… my hometown staged a parade on Memorial Day. I don’t remember who exactly was marching, but surely there were military units with their wonderful bands; troops of scouts, always a bit out of step; cars, usually convertibles holding waving town officials, a few pristine antique…
When your birthday is December 7th (as mine is), you grow up well aware of what happened on that date in 1941. Back in the 1950s and ‘60s when I was a schoolgirl, I took this reality for granted. “When’s your birthday?” “December 7th.” A wide-eyed step backward—an apprehensive look… as though I had a…
Never Again: Syrians are crying for help. Who is listening?
What do the words “Never Again” mean to you? Last night I attended a screening of “Cries from Syria” at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by Helen Mirren, and afterwards there was a conversation with the Director, Evgeny Afineevsky. This powerful documentary traces the disintegration of the country that…
Two years ago, I lived in Massachusetts, where we celebrated Columbus Day. Now I live in California, where we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day. Good bye, Columbus! I’ll miss you, I suppose. It’s not that big a deal. The names of holidays do change. Veterans Day used to be called Armistice Day; Lincoln’s Birthday and Washington’s…
Well, let’s just say, I’ve had it with the Second Amendment being used as an excuse to do absolutely nothing about the carnage we are all beginning to accept as normal here in the land of the free and home of the brave. And I ask: Are we really still free? Can we ever be…
If you want to place yourself in the very center of the storied arc of U. S. Naval history, go to Boston. Thursday night I was honored to attend #Seabee75, the Seabee Diamond Anniversary reception at the U.S.S. Constitution National Historic Site. Present were former Seabees of every era since the Navy’s Construction Battalions (CBs)…
Pry open the skull of anyone who has spent a lifetime writing for hire, as I have, and inside you’ll find an infinite jumble of half-written creative pieces that would look like “magnetic poetry” on steroids if they could be attached somehow to a gigantic cosmic refrigerator. A journal is one way to capture, contain,…