“I need not tell you that the world situation is very serious,” George C. Marshall said at the start of a short remarks, given at Harvard’s commencement in 1947. After laying out the dire situation in Europe, Marshall, a former general then serving as US Secretary of State, discussed the broad outlines of a massive […]
Mr. We Could Use a Man Like Geoge Marshall Again Read More »
“You got to be able to laugh at the Gadsden Purchase. It’s what life is all about.” So said Mike DiCenzo, a longtime writer for Jimmy Fallon, who played an audience member in a delightful bit that aired in March 2009. “Look at all the comedic possibilities,” DiCenzo added. “You’ve got [President] Franklin Pierce. Hello?
The Gadsden Purchase is “What Life is All About” Read More »
“A History of Ranching,” Buck Winn’s largest painting, is a 280-foot-long mural commissioned in 1950 that hung for decades in the “Corral Room,” at Pearl Beer’s brewery in San Antonio. At the time, it was the world’s longest mural. His smallest painting was the basis for today’s #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp, issued on December 29,
Pearl Beer, A History of Ranching, and a Texas-Sized Tale Read More »
“Is this heaven?” Shoeless Joe Jackson asks in “Field of Dreams.” “No,” Ray Kinsella replies. “It’s Iowa.” I know the line – and the movie – are hokey. But I love them anyway because they touch on many things I love and value including the power of love and hope; having the faith and strength
Learning from the Imaginary Iowa Read More »
Growing up, Shea Stadium was almost a religious shrine for me. Little did I know, that the really important – and still quite timey—shrine was less than two miles away. My feelings about Shea were so strong that I would get excited when we went past it as we drove from our home in New
Shea Stadium Wasn’t the Only Shrine in Queens Read More »
I’ve been looking back at my initial #stampfotheday posts, which began in April when I decided, on a whim, to see what would happen if I wrote a daily post about a stamp in my late father’s stamp collection. (I’ve been doing so because my daughter Rebecca has offered to build a website to host
Could Philadelphia Be the Athens of the Western World? Read More »
In 1962, when the U.S. Post Office Department released a jingle to go with its first ever Christmas stamp. Set to the tune of Jingle Bells, it went: “Christmas stamps, Christmas stamps, making our debut We’ll brighten up your Christmas cards, and speed them onto you. Don’t delay, mail today, it’s later than you think.
Why Are There Christmas Stamps? Read More »
“From a distance the world looks blue and green And the snow-capped mountains white.” I don’t know if the iconic picture of “Earthrise” taken from Apollo 8 on December 24, 1968 inspired Julie Gold to write “From a Distance” in 1985. But, I always think of that image when I hear it. From a distance
Seeing the Earth as It Truly Is Read More »
The great American philosopher Kenny Rogers once sang: “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em Know when to fold ’em Know when to walk away And know when to run. …If you’re going to play the game, boy You gotta learn to play it right. Our current president clearly doesn’t know it’s time to
Unlike Donald Trump, George Washington Was a Statesman Read More »
Where have you gone…James Oglethorpe? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo, woo, woo Those aren’t the lyrics but they are timely because the eyes of the nation are focused on the U.S. Senate races in Georgia, which was founded as a Utopian scheme by Oglethorpe, an 18th century social reformer who is
Where have you gone … James Oglethorpe? Read More »