Memory is a funny thing…I remember: A conversation with Prime Minister Thatcher about her trip to Russia at her son Mark’s engagement party at the American ambassador’s home in London. Shaking hands and conversation with Price Charles discussing tech in the north of England during his visit to Dallas. Discussing Tang figurines with Chinese vice-premier Li Peng who later served as Premier from 1987-1998 and was instrumental in the Tiananmen Square fiasco. Watching baby Chinstrap penguins diving off an iceberg in Antarctica Watching Bluefooted boobies nesting happily in the Galapagos Islands Making sales calls with Ross Perot Standing at ground...
Over the last 50 years or so I have collected bits and pieces of wisdom, poetry, pithy sayings, clever quotations and some outright foolish utterances. These were committed to writing in a myriad of media including note books kept for various reasons, backs of envelops, scratch pads and emails to myself. They tended to accumulate in shoeboxes, long neglected manilla folders, as well as other nooks and crannies. I hesitate to even guess how many I’ve saved…let’s just say a lot. I’ve resolved that now in my 9th decade, I’m going to get things straightened out and squared away…which means, among other things getting rid of...
Earlier this year, my darling wife S. and I enjoyed a delightful and educational voyage in the eastern Mediterranean, which culminated in a four-day tour of Israel. Yes, I know that four days isn’t long enough to work through the NYT Sunday crossword puzzle, much less understand a country with as complex a history as Israel… or is it Palestine, or maybe the Promised Land, or possibly Canaan, or even Judah? You see what it I mean. It’s complex before I even begin. Before I start, and in a nod towards full disclosure, you should know that my genealogy consultant informed me some years ago that my long ago antecedents were most probably...
Admit it. You have no idea where Malta is or even what it is. The words Maltese Falcon may ring a bell faintly, but that’s about it, and that puts you right in there with the rest of the world. I was pretty sure that it wasn’t associated with the wonderful British candy Malt Teasers, nor was it related to that great novel and film noir, The Maltese Falcon. That’s one of the reasons I selected this cruise. I had never been there. Not only had I never been there, I had only a vague notion of where it was. Nor had I ever been to Ephesus, Sicily, or Cyprus, which all were on the itinerary. And given the fact that I’m approaching or...
…Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able to? Then he is not omnipotent. …Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. …Is he both willing and able? Then whence cometh evil? Then why call him god? ~ Epicurus (341-271 B.C.E.) ~ I couldn’t have said it better myself. There have been many others who proposed their own formulation, and there may have been some who said it earlier, but none have said it better than old Epicurus. Epicurus and other like-minded philosophers have bedeviled Christian, Islamic and Jewish thinkers for millennia. First a short sidebar on Epicurus: Epicurus was a Greek philosopher in the image...
To borrow corruptly from the Bard, “A wall by any other name would still be a wall.” Whether a barrier, a fence (barbed wired or not), circles of razor wire, steel slats, stone, hog panels, rock, solid cement, a line (as in the Maginot Line), with or without turrets and machine gun emplacements… it’s still a wall. I know, you’re as sick as of hearing about “the wall” as I am, and probably you’re as confused as I am about whether and how much wall we have, whether and how much wall is currently under construction, whether and how effective it is, whether there is a need for more wall, how much it would cost, and...
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.
