Category Archives: nineteenth-century
Elegy for Ed Erwin
I hadn’t heard from Ed since right after his unexpected surgery. He’d sent me a technicolor headshot showing how he looked when post-operative. Pretty banged up. I didn’t realize that it would be his wordless explanation for ending further communication … Continue reading
My Journey Within
Earlier today, in a momentous break with recent routine, I set aside time to be with me, Abbie. My aim was to step outside the drumbeat of each-hour-taken-over-by-its-ineluctable-task. I wanted to bracket all the tasks and ask the question: Am … Continue reading
Friends in the Teeth of History
Some of my best friends are Christians. That sounds like my riff on the anti-semite – who delicately sets aside an exception or two – to counter-balance his sweeping detestation of Jews in any larger numbers. No – unlike the … Continue reading
Authenticity Adios
The philosopher who first brought “authenticity” to public notice was, I believe, Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). According to a recent book, Tyranny and Revolution by Waller Newell, Heidegger’s notion went like this: you and I are to be grasped as localizations … Continue reading
