“October had tremendous possibility. The summer’s oppressive heat was a distant memory, and the golden leaves promised a world full of beautiful adventures. They made me believe in miracles.” ― Sarah Guillory, “Reclaimed” What […]
I am a great believer in failure. Oh, yes, winning gets all the good press, but I’d wager to say that, over time, losing benefits you more than winning. Stay with me […]
Everyone is still a bit shook by Sunday night’s horrific events in Las Vegas. The worst mass shooting in American history was made even more painful by the fate of at least […]
You hear a lot these days about mixed-use projects. Well, this week’s Retorts is a mixed-use column about two items of interest to our communities and, well, our columnist. Police shootings not […]
Back before you got your driver’s license, and then your first car, the first wave of independence you rode was on your bicycle. In elementary school, and maybe even for a while […]
I don’t think I could have done it. In my military reserve days, they taught us that when a hand grenade lands by you, just fall flat on your face on the […]
Oh, that’ll never happen. Or, it won’t happen again. The nation’s attention has been focused this week on the agony of Texas and Louisiana as those states are lashed by Hurricane – […]
This is the season of statues, monuments and symbolism, both near and far. Violence in Virginia, and at least some virulent words here in Orange County. A national tempest has been stirred […]
The events in Charlottesville, Virginia are still fresh in our minds and emotions are running high. A fear of rising escalation of anger, of steeper polarization seems to be taking hold. […]
“Journalism,” Matthew Arnold said, “is literature in a hurry.” I can remember in my youth scrambling to write articles to meet some impending daily deadline, peering desperately at increasingly obscure notes, feeling […]
