Category Archives: Essays

The smartest person you may have never heard of.

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Some geniuses go through life without recognition. C.S. Peirce is an example of an incredible mind that is now being discovered in relatively buried archives at Harvard.

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National Talk in an Elevator Day!

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Lorraine Woods for this note. It seems to me that the elevator talk a Skyline is a real plus in socialization. Are we a national model? It’s National Talk in an Elevator Day. Why do you need to know … Continue reading →

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Mid-Brexit, Britons Pause to Debate What Really Matters: Tea

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Jim deMaine

LONDON — Controversy over soccer star Alex Morgan’s tea-drinking World Cup victory dance has died down, but it has reignited debate among readers of The Times of London, Britain’s second-starchiest daily newspaper, over a matter that has long troubled the British people: … Continue reading →

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Childrens’s answers to the great questions

Posted on June 26, 2019 by Jim deMaine
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Do we get real mail anymore?

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Do we write letters anymore? Is there a difference between email and real mail? It seems to me that letters carry more weight. They can’t be deleted with a click. They can be found later in our real … Continue reading →

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A visitor in the operating room

Posted on June 22, 2019 by Jim deMaine

It was Trevor’s first weekend to relax since moving to Seattle.  He was out in a park walking Bailey, his year old lab, when his pager unexpectedly beeped.  He called in to the operating room office, where the frantic head … Continue reading →

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Reverse Living

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Jim deMaine
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The most, the coldest, the least, etc. – strange facts

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Jim deMaine
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The Racial Reckoning Comes – by David Brooks

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Jim deMaine

From the NYT: When I was a boy I was taught a certain story about America. This was the land of opportunity. Immigrants came to this land and found an open field and a fair chance to pursue their dreams. … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays, Politics, Race | 1 Comment

Love letters to strangers

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Are you still writing notes and letters? I hope so. This “old school” way of saying thanks, sorry or condolences is by far the best. It’s also a craft – one that has its own healing power.

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It’s time for national service

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Ed Note: One of the problems of youth is that they don’t have enough exposure to those different from themselves. A sense of entitlement is often attributed to the millenials. Service when we are young in the Military, Peace Corps … Continue reading →

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As Afghanistan peace talks progress, WA continues to suffer losses in America’s longest war

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Jim deMaine

For 18 years Joint Base Lewis-McChord has played an essential role in a war that has been forgotten by many Americans.  by Kevin Knodell from Crosscut / May 27, 2019 Last week President Donald Trump’s envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, briefed U.S. senators in a classified meeting. Khalilzad, … Continue reading →

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You’re simply not that big a deal: now isn’t that a relief?

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Melissa Dahl is editor of New Yorkmagazine’s Science of Us, and the author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness (2018). She lives in New York. From Aeon: There is a meme that speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the overly self-conscious. … Continue reading →

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If anyone can see the morally unthinkable online, what then?

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: Can we ever “unsee” or “unhear” things that we wish we hadn’t seen or heard? This can happen far too easily on the internet where live streaming a terrorist event can happen or when one trips over porn … Continue reading →

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‘Hand to Mouth’ by Linda Tirado

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Mary M for sending this along: So why do poor people seem so self destructive. Well, “Our bodies hurt, our brains hurt, and our souls hurt.” Poor people are exhausted, degraded, angry and depressed most days of their … Continue reading →

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To all mothers – thoughts of your children

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Jim deMaine
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Shoulder Taps

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Margarete B who found this one. The spontaneous “shoulder taps” that happen can be wonderful, but sometimes silence is best. I remember seeing a very obese lady in my office one time. Her problem was totally unrelated to … Continue reading →

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Ageism: A ‘Prevalent and Insidious’ Health Threat

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Ed note: This article probably deserves some discussion. Have you experienced ageism? Are we too sensitive about our age? Are the concerns about ageism at times over the top, being too politically correct? Does our tendency to joke about our … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Sites, Essays | 1 Comment

The secret to San Francisco’s famous sourdough: bug poop

Posted on April 26, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Pam P for sending this in By Charlotte Druckman and Kevin Gray in Popular Science  It’s easy to get a rise out of a local TV news crew. Especially in a slo-mo state capital like California’s. So it was on September 6, 2007, … Continue reading →

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The moral philosophy of David Brooks

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Jim deMaine

David Brooks is quite honest in his latest book. He became a workaholic and his marriage fell apart six years ago. His Quest for a Moral Life is a message to us all about personal responsibility for our actions, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Essays, Philosophy | 1 Comment

The funeral as we know it is becoming a relic — just in time for a death boom

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Jim deMaine

By Karen Heller April 15 (in the Washington Post – thanks to Frank C for sending this in) Dayna West knows how to throw a fabulous memorial shindig. She hired Los Angeles celebration-of-life planner Alison Bossert — yes, those now exist — … Continue reading →

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Our Disgrace at the Border by David Brooks

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Suppose one night there is a knock on your door. You open it to find 100 bedraggled families shivering in your yard — exhausted, filthy, terrified. The first cry of your heart would be to take them in, but you’d … Continue reading →

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Who was Sparky?

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Rosemary W for sending the video along From Wikipedia: “Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota,[3] Schulz grew up in Saint Paul. He was the only child of Carl Schulz, who was born in Germany, and Dena Halverson, who had Norwegian heritage.[4] His uncle called him “Sparky” after the … Continue reading →

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To boost your self-esteem, write about chapters of your life

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Jim deMaine

From Aeon: “In truth, so much of what happens to us in life is random – we are pawns at the mercy of Lady Luck. To take ownership of our experiences and exert a feeling of control over our future, … Continue reading →

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Hope springs eternal

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Jim deMaine

Below is from Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man. Though Pope isn’t talking about the folly of Mariner’s Mania, he does remind us to “drop into thyself and be a fool.” Know then thyself, presume not God to scanThe proper … Continue reading →

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