If you don’t want to see it, it’s not there. If you feel strongly against something, it doesn’t exist. This is what’s now called “magical thinking,” a way of looking at the […]
Retorts: Challenge of “magical thinking”
Thanks for the memories and a lot more
Most of us can’t go over the river and through the woods next week, but if you’re like me, you treasure Thanksgiving as a warm, fuzzy and thoroughly enjoyable beginning to the […]
Retorts: They built it, and we showed up
What’s more of a cliché than “If you build it, they will come”? It’s difficult to find one, but sometimes clichés have an element of truth to them. Case in point, the […]
Retorts: Truth, lies and other wisdom
At my deceptively youthful age, I have collected a brain-full of witticisms, wisdom, old wives tales, brilliance, foolishness and head-scratching memories I have still yet to parse. You’ve seen these paperback books […]
Retorts: Want to connect? Tell a story
Lining one wall of my home office, from floor to ceiling, is a collection of many of my best friends. No, it’s not photographic mementos from my past; it’s the hundreds […]
Retorts: Panhandlers, parks, Burlington
Note to readers: The Tribune’s top staff has been on a “time out” for the last week, recharging batteries and planning future improvements. Much of this journey of discovery took place in […]
Retorts: What’s lost since the first “9/11”
In today’s super-heated political atmosphere, a bass note that goes through much of what passes for “discussion” goes something like this: We are on the edge of The Apocalypse if The Other […]
Prejudices prevail all around the world
“Oh, the rich folks hate the poor folks And the poor folks hate the rich folks All of my folks hate all of your folks It’s American as apple pie.” – Tom […]
Retorts: (We couldn’t) get into hot water
Jim Tortolano’s Retorts has the week off. Here is a classic Retorts from years past. Pat Ryan, in his sci-fi novel “Alas Babylon,” wrote that “civilization is like snow in the […]
Retorts: Ugliness is bad for business
We can’t do much about the way we look, but we can do plenty to make the world around us look attractive, comforting, inspirational and practical. We spend a whole lot of […]
