Archive for May, 2010
Memorial Day In Hornell, NY
Like hundreds of communities, Hornell, New York will celebrate Memorial Day with a parade and veteran ceremonies. The event in this Southern Tier village is a bit more personal for the town’s people. It is the first Memorial Day since Zach Smith died in Afghanistan.
Saving Baby’s
Good news and bad news about our children. Around the world 7.7 million children below the age of five will die in 2010. This is down 35% from the 11.9 million children that perished in 1990. The bad news is the United States child mortality is not keeping pace. It is incredible that the richest [...]
A Senior Moment
At the local YMCA I observed a magical senior moment. Rather than sermonize or over-analyzing it, allow me to describe it with the hope all of us will follow the same path. An elderly gentleman approached the front desk in a dripping bathing suit. He needed help. Embarrassed, his eyes stared at his wet toes [...]
School’s Out
While posting the final grades, there is irony as the radio blares Alice Cooper singing, “School’s Out.” My first semester as a professor is over, yet I will miss it. While confident my classes learned something beyond my corny jokes, it is clear I learned so much more from them. For instance: • On the [...]
Storm Drills
My heart goes out to Midwesterners terrorized by tornados. Spring brings nightly fear as massive dark clouds press on the horizon. I grew up in Northwest Ohio, a twister magnet. I remember our two drills at Saint Mary’s Catholic School in Defiance, Ohio. As the alarm bell clang stern nuns in their black & white [...]
Book Recommendation – Outliers
My book-reading is altered this year. Teaching requires textbook and other educational reading. Along that path I stumbled on ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a fascinating study on success that completely changes how we view it. I highly recommend it. Gladwell begins with Canadian hockey stars. The majority of the best are born in [...]
Explosive Ethics
What if I told you there is a foreign operation with a wide network in the United States that is responsible for a number of explosions killing a couple dozen Americans? What if you knew the same organization is accountable for three major environmental disasters in North America? Call Home Security? Don’t expect a reply. [...]
2 Canals
The Erie Canal is a couple miles from our home. When walking along the towpath past cafes and gift stores I think about my ancestors that either dug this canal or traveled along this water highway to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and West. Immigrants, like the Weber’s, Clark’s and Ryan’s, landed in New York, went North [...]
