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  • America at 249, Me at 60

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    “Love and loss, are like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that… Read More ›

  • Eyes Cast Backwards

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    “all these are but dreams and shadows; the shadows that hide the real world from our eyes.” ― Arthur Machen, The Great God Pan   Much of this month has been spent traveling the byways and highways of the American South.  The… Read More ›

  • Core Beliefs at Play

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    “The more one pleases generally, the less one pleases profoundly.” ― Stendhal, Love   Every discussion about public education policy centers on the belief that it is either a public good or a commodity. Is the system designed to benefit… Read More ›

  • Summertime Doesn’t Always Mean Nuthin But Fun

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    “Don’t do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don’t do it; and the little girl… Read More ›

  • Nary a Deviation From The Playbook

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    “The performance is over.” The audience got up. “It’s time to put on your fur coats and go home.” They looked round. But it turned out that there were no fur coats and no homes.” ― Donald Rayfield, Stalin and… Read More ›

  • We Got a Date

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    “All Eli had to do was smile. All Victor had to do was lie. Both proved frighteningly effective.” ― V.E. Schwab, Vicious   We’ve got a date! Penny Schwinn, the former chief of Tennessee’s state schools, was chosen in January for… Read More ›

  • Making the Cash Register Ring

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    Just because so many things are in conflict does not mean that ourselves should be divided.” ― Sophie Scholl   As I settle in to write, I pass by the kids’ bedrooms. It’s 8:35, and they continue to snooze. After 9… Read More ›

  • Life Comes at You Fast

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    “Before forty, you think that exhaustion is something like a long-lasting hangover. But at forty you learn all about it. Even your passions exhaust you.” ― Kevin Barry We humans like to think we can control life and arrange all the… Read More ›

  • Beginnings and Endings

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    “Once you name something, it stops you seeing the whole of it, or why it matters. You focus on the word, which is just the tiniest part, really, the tip of an iceberg.” ― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient   Another school… Read More ›

  • A Week’s Worth of Rumination

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    “I pity people who can’t find laughter or at least some bit of amusement in the little doings of the day. I believe I could find something ridiculous even in the saddest moment, if necessary. It has nothing to do… Read More ›