Did you know that racism was not a recognized word until the early part of the 20th century? Of course, you didn’t. But, in fact, the word ”racism” was derived from the word “racialism,” which first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1907. The fact of racism, depending upon the degree to which you subscribe to the literalism of the Bible, first arises in the time of Noah when one of his three sons, Ham, “was cursed by being black.” Further, the offspring of Ham, of which there were many, were likewise considered, in addition to their blackness, to be both sinful and degenerate due to their blackness. Hmmm. Is it possible to be...
Public speaking is everyone’s nightmare, but giving a commencement address whether at Harvard or your granddaughter’s pre-k, is a special form of torture. Yes, I know it’s an honor and all that, but you know, in your heart of hearts, it’s a no win situation. First of all, no one is really interested in what you might choose to say. And if you come up with something really clever, I can assure you, it’s already been done. The best you can do is to make them laugh a couple of times and stay in their seats until it’s over. For some obscure reason, those of us who are asked to risk this form of public humiliation take our...
Preamble: This may seem an odd subject that’s out of character for my typical blog posting, but, as I may have mentioned, I’m sifting through my past blogs with a view toward publishing them in book form. While reviewing old files, I came across this piece which, upon reading today, might seem a little ghoulish, yet still accurately reflects my views on life and death…at least to date. Although this was originally slotted for after my “graduation”, I decided to include it here to get some completeness, more or less. Reading it side by side with my piece “On Turning Seventy”, one might think that I’m...
I lost a friend last week. No, it wasn’t a surprise. The tumors in his brain finally got the upper hand. The fact that I knew it was coming makes it no easier to accept. You can see from the title above that I still think of him in the present tense, and I suspect that I always will. That’s his character. Although I have known him for well over half my life, there are others who can give the particulars of his life, fully lived, far better than I. There have been times when I’ve not seen him for stretches of time, but when we reengage it’s as if I’ve seen him every day of my life. In many ways our lives seemed to take...
If you are of a certain age, I bet I know the first thing that comes to mind when you see the word “Burma.” Be honest now, I’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with Aung San Suu Kyi or the dreadful military tyrants that have had the country in lockdown for the last fifty years. Your first thought may go something like this: “Does your husband, Misbehave? Grunt and Grumble, Rant and Rave? Shoot the Brute…Some Burma Shave!” I know you wouldn’t remember the exact words of the doggerel but, more likely than not, you would have thought of Burma Shave. That’s about where I started out as...
After 30 years in the world of big business, Gary “retired” to pursue long ignored interests. While continuing his involvement in the corporate world by serving as a director of several public companies, he has, among other things, traveled the world in pursuit of the perfect bird photograph, served national and local charities as a director and donor, developed a personal web site as a platform for his writing on subjects of personal interest, and, occasionally, taken time to smell the roses.
Gary and his wife Sandra, shuttle between their condo in Dallas and their farm in Fannin county, Texas where they indulge themselves in organic gardening, long walks and entertaining friends and family.
