The third wave of the great 1918-1919 influenza pandemic peaked early in March of 1919. Although the third wave wasn’t as deadly as the apocalyptic second wave in mid 1918, it was much deadlier than the first wave, and hit particularly hard in several major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Memphis, Nashville, San Francisco […]
Talk About Pyhrric Victories: Influenza and World War I Read More »
In 1949, my father received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union. Seventy years later, we found his lab reports and tests in the boxes of papers, photos, and ephemera that we had put in storage in 2013. To be clear: this meant that my parents had taken those papers with them on
Cooper Union Meant So Much to My Father Read More »
Drive into many towns in America and you’ll see familiar sight: a gold and blue circular sign that says, “Rotary International.” While I’ve seen these for years, I confess I don’t know much about Rotary International. I have a vague sense that Rotary’s local clubs have been a mainstay of local town life, a place
What Do Those Blue “Rotary Club” Signs Mean? Read More »
Although I’m 63 and not yet eligible for the COVID vaccine, I’ve been watching as people I know have started getting the vaccine. The roll-out, of course, hasn’t been handled well and even if it were, the demand is much greater than the current supply. So, like many others, I am waiting and hoping, not
Lessons About COVID From Mary Lasker and the Crusade Against Cancer Read More »
John Glenn, the first American (and third person) to orbit the earth, wasn’t my favorite astronaut in the mid 1960s. That honor belonged to the lesser known Wally Schirra, who was the fifth American and ninth person to orbit the earth. And that’s why the gerbil I accidentally killed was named Wally, not John. Glenn
John Glenn Was Most Famous But I Liked Wally Schirra Read More »
In the 1970s, when people travelled and airlines served something resembling real food, my mother decided that the silverware used by Braniff Airlines looked almost exactly like her silverware at home. So when she had a choice, she flew Braniff (which stopped flying in 1982). And when she “deplaned,” Braniff silverware from her meal and
Braniff’s Silverware and the Airline Fiasco of 1934 Read More »
What do Robert Louis Stevenson, Sally Rand’s Nude Ranch, monkeys racing tiny automobiles, Diego Rivera, and Indiana Jones, all have in common? The answer is that they are all connected to the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, which opened on February 18, 1939 on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The start of that event
Diego Rivera, Driving Monkeys, and the Golden Gate International Exposition Read More »
“Baker shut up. Able isn’t who you think he is,” was the “punchline” of one of the few stories my father would tell about being a soldier in World War II. (Or at least that’s how I remember the story). When he was 19, my father was the radioman in a mobile reconnaissance unit from
Able to Baker to the International Telecommuications Union Read More »
For about two decades, maybe longer, we’ve ended our Passover Seder by singing “Amazing Grace.” It’s always late and we’re full – of food, spirit, love, and hope, and other good things. Obviously not a traditional Jewish song, its message of hope and redemption resonates in way that makes it the perfect ending for the
How Can I Keep from Singing? Read More »
In 1975, like many in the cast, I grew a beard for our high school’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” (I played the rabbi.) Except a few brief interludes in the late 70s, I’ve had a beard ever since. Beards change the way people look, and, presumably how they are perceived. That’s dramatically illustrated
Abraham Lincoln’s Beard and Whiskers Read More »