An Italian-American Writer & Poet with a Yankee Outsider Perspective
This is a testimonial and a cry of pain: I have been an ardent Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra subscriber through two husbands, five or six jobs, and three houses. I’ve watched the orchestra grow in size and expertise, in ensemble … Continued
What do we care? Muscling tight corners in our SUVs. Legislators gleefully firing climate scientists at state college. Playing with our hand-helds while the Rockies go up in flames. We’re hanging by a thread. Just imagine it. Thumbing our … Continued
For the first hour or two after take-off on an over-the-ocean flight, my spirits are bouyant. I enjoy talking to my seat-mate. Yesterday (which stretched an additional 7 hours), my good luck had me seated next to an Irish lawyer … Continued
I thought I’d never forget my outrage at Richard Nixon in the presidency (1969-74), but so I have, until now, when listening to Barbara Tuchman’s occasional pieces brings his astonishing depredations roiling back. Yet, he was in office when some … Continued
In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. signed another trade agreement (I now realize it was NAFTA, a regional agreement among the U.S., Mexico, and Canada) I was driving into Wisconsin. The MPR newscast announced this new freedom granted to U.S. … Continued
Round Pegs in Square Holes. They don’t work, or so we should have discovered first hand in kindergarten. It’s a very primary lesson BUT not much help in politics. I could have started this mumbling with a more dramatic flair: … Continued
Michele Bachman is providing mini lessons on the Southern branch of American Christianity. Granted, as she keeps telling us, she’s from Iowa. Her current constituents in Minnesota may also be surprised to find that they’re supporting a branch of Christianity … Continued
Nothing like a trip far north, to the shores of Lake Superior, where you can almost see the earth curve, to clear the mind of minutiae and pour in new food for thought. Waking at 5 a.m. with the sun … Continued