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Recommendations

Cutting for Stone

“A rich man’s faults are covered with money but a surgeon’s faults are covered with earth.” Abraham Verghese, Author in Cutting for Stone

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Hamilton on Immigration

“Men are generally too much attached to their native country to leave it and dissolve all of their connexions, unless they are driven to it by necessity.” Alexander Hamilton as quoted by Ron Chernow in Hamilton

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Inspiration

Extraordinary, Ordinary People By Condoleezza Rice If you want to understand nuances of the black experience in America read this book. Put aside your politics and your preconceptions and immerse yourself in a story of what it was like raising a black girl in Bull Conner’s Birmingham, Alabama. In the book she explains why she is a Republican and why she favors affirmative action and much more. But it is mostly a tribute to her parents and their selfless efforts to raise a wonderful daughter… Read More »Inspiration

Reconstruction

There is a feeling, often expressed, that we live in particularly tumultuous times. I often politely ask when we were not in “tumultuous times.” My argument is that “presentism” ie giving more weight to the present than the past makes the current situation seem far more important than it really is. I often explain it as the “car window” effect. If you look out the side window of a moving car things appear to be moving very fast, but if you look out the front… Read More »Reconstruction

The Road to Hana

I received this postcard from Lilli and Rebecca when they drove to Hana during our December trip to Maui. I supplied the stamps. They said it was “roughly the equivalent of several raccoons.” Driving the Road to Hana is an experience that is not easily illustrated. This card does a pretty good job but it doesn’t get there. A photo of a concert does not give you the experience of going to the concert. The same is true with the Road to Hana. It has… Read More »The Road to Hana

Solomon’s Paradox

“We are better at solving other people’s problems than our own. Detachment yields objectivity” The flower arrangements are at Mama’s Fish House in Maui, Hawaii. We visited over the Christmas holiday. Life is good.

Vintage Postcards

I was boating in Chesapeake Bay with Gene B. and in the lovely small town of Havre de Grace we came across a postcard shop. If you want postcards and you are in the Baltimore/Washington area visit Mary L Martin at 230 N Washington St Havre de Grace MD 21078 “Many good ideas come too late.” I bought this Elvis card at Mary’s store in Havre de Grace.

A Rift in the Earth

A Rift in the Earth by James Reston This is a short book that tells the story of the building of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC. “Our nation lost its will for the war, and yet didn’t have the courage to stop it.” Maya Lin’s simple but moving memorial is a fitting tribute to those who gave there lives in this lost cause. Reston’s story of the “Art wars” that were fought over its construction is worth reading.

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