Notes From My Journal
560 articles filed under Notes From My Journal.
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About People with Gender Dysphoria
And How the Woke Mob Is Making a Mockery of Them In some ways, the transgender debate may be the most important cultural issue of this century. Certainly more important than ageism, xenophobia, and fat phobia…
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Notes From My Journal
When You Know It’s Unjust
One of the challenges of charity is that there are all sorts of nebulous aspects to supporting worthy causes. Among the most common are the many ways they can have unintended consequences. There is also the…
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Notes From My Journal
A New Rule for Discussing Economics
I don’t think much of Critical Race Theory. But there is one thing derived from it that I sometimes want to emulate. I’m talking about the idea of White Privilege – i.e., that if you are White, you should shut…
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Notes From My Journal
Poor Wreck That I Am
Over the past 22 years, I’ve written a fair amount about my experiences with clinical level depression and anxiety, as well as the normal range of self-doubts and self-recriminations that any former altar boy…
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Notes From My Journal
Aww, Isn’t That Cute!
I know what you are thinking… Ford is reading a bedtime story to his grandkids. Not exactly. It was lunchtime. We are at a hotel in LA. The kids were acting up and the adults had not yet finished their food…
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Notes From My Journal
New Orleans: A Brief Visit; Rekindled Affection
K and I flew in from LA after visiting some of the grandkids to celebrate our anniversary and take another look at a city we’ve always enjoyed. We hadn’t been here in 12 years. In that time, the city was…
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Notes From My Journal
The Open-Carry Question
Yesterday, in downtown Pasadena, I saw a fight break out between two Hispanic “parking enforcement” officers and a young Asian man. The young man, someone said, had flicked a lit cigarette at one of them after…
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Notes From My Journal
Pulling a Tom Sawyer
In The Pledge, I outlined something I once used to identify which of my many life ambitions corresponded with my unconscious values. I called it the Tom Sawyer Strategy. As in: If you could eavesdrop on your…
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Notes From My Journal
When Police Pull You Over
I bought the house several years earlier and rented it to one of the maintenance guys that works for me. It was in what some might call the iffy part of town. I had been to it only once. To discuss the…
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Notes From My Journal
Let’s Talk About Egos!
In my piece about Trump’s “impending arrest” in the Mar. 28 issue, I said, “What Trump’s foes hoped would come from [an indictment] was a derailment of his presidential campaign. Given the strength of Trump’s…
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Notes From My Journal
Let’s Change the Subject and Talk About… Killer Bees
Sunday afternoons, various members of the Ford and Fitzgerald clans gather at the Swamp House (K’s term for our cottage at Paradise Palms) for coffee and conversation. We do our best to avoid politics because……
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Notes From My Journal
Has Your Baby’s Car Seat Expired?
“No need to bring a car seat,” we told our niece. “We have at least four of them somewhere.” “How old?” “You mean for what sized child?” “No, how old are the seats? When were they manufactured?” “What…
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Notes From My Journal
The Incontestable Importance of Editors
In most areas of publishing, the importance of editors is never in doubt. But in the world of newsletter publishing, editors have played only a minor role. They are usually tasked with cleaning up the text…
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Notes From My Journal
True Story
This happened Tuesday morning… K: “Did you ever find the check for C and M?” (C is our nephew. M is his new wife. I was supposed to give the check to them at their wedding, which was held at Paradise Palms. I…
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Notes From My Journal
My Oscar Predictions: How Did I Do?
Plus: My Take on Some Categories You’ve Never Heard Of I know you are dying to hear my thoughts on the Oscars and to find out, if you don’t know already, how my predictions panned out. So, here you go... Best…
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Notes From My Journal
Oscar Winners for 2023
Okay. I know you’ve been dying to find out. Here are my picks for this year’s Academy Awards. Best Movie * What Will Get It: Everything Everywhere All at Once * What Should Get It: All Quiet on The Western…
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Notes From My Journal
Hugh Eakin Charms At Picasso's War Talk
What a pleasant day Friday was for me. I had two tickets to see Hugh Eakin speak about Picasso’s War, his fantastic account of how modern art came to America, at the Norton Museum in nearby West Palm Beach…
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Notes From My Journal
Do You Remember Bob Ross?
When I was in my 30s, I occasionally watched a PBS instructional series on painting, starring a tall, White guy with an afro named Bob Ross. During the 11 years he appeared on The Joy of Painting, he recorded…
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Notes From My Journal
What to Eat? What to Watch?
Should we walk two blocks to our local eatery, Boheme Bistro, where Adel treats us like celebrities, and enjoy some great Lebanese food? Or walk half a block farther, to Burger Fi, for juicy cheeseburgers by…
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Notes From My Journal
Talking About (and With) an Artificial Intelligence Being
AI – i.e., artificial intelligence – is no longer fodder for science fiction. It’s here and it’s now. And thanks to the most recent iterations, it is the subject of many of my conversations. In the last two…
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Notes From My Journal
4th of July in Chad, Africa: Teachers vs. Well Diggers
That’s me, second to the left, shirtless. The time: July 4, 1977. The location: the residence of the US Ambassador to Chad. The occasion: a 4th of July party for the Peace Corps volunteers that were stationed…
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Notes From My Journal
Mentoring the Second Generation
I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring many young people throughout my career. With family members, it’s been mostly about watching them grow into responsible and productive adults. With employees, it’s been about…
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Notes From My Journal
Making Sense of the State of the Union Address
Did you listen to Biden’s State of the Union address? Did you hear what he said about his economic priorities? He said he was going to make America great again by opening oil and gas exploration, reducing the…
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Notes From My Journal
Watching the Super Bowl This Weekend?
The Super Bowl is supposed to be the biggest sporting event of the year in the USA. Virtually all my friends and family members watch it. Not moi. I prefer more intellectual sports, like MMA, where contestants…
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Notes From My Journal
Is The China Spy Balloon a Hoax?
Can we believe anything we read or hear from our elected officials or the mainstream media? Take, for example, this Chinese “spy” balloon. The idea is preposterous. We are talking about a big, slow-moving…
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Notes From My Journal
The Tyre Nichols Killing: Where Should the Conversation Start?
By now, most of America is familiar with the story of the five Memphis policemen that beat to death Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man who had been pulled over on Jan. 7 for “reckless driving.” When I saw the…
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Notes From My Journal
On Saturday, We Hosted a Wedding at Paradise Palms…
It was for CF, a nephew, and his bride. There were about 150 people in attendance. It was held in a section of the gardens designed to be a venue for outdoor events like this. This was the second wedding held…
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Notes From My Journal
Let’s Talk About Guns and Politics and Zombies
SC and I were talking about guns. He wanted me to accompany him to a shooting range here in Delray Beach so I could try my hand at various handguns and rifles. I gave him my spiel… Many years ago, I saw a list…
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Notes From My Journal
My First “Paycheck” Job
PP and I were reminiscing about some of the jobs we had in high school. This somehow led to a discussion of “How come kids don’t work hard today?” It got me thinking about my first job. Not the paper route I…
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Notes From My Journal
Is This Crazy? Or Am I?
Language Police “Wokerize” Another Phrase! In January, following the lead of the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work, Michigan’s Dept. of Health and Human Services banned the use of the…
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Notes From My Journal
Making a Stranger’s Day
Click here for a video clip about a passenger helping out an Uber driver in trouble. When I watched it, it reminded me of a similar experience I had several years ago. Here’s my story… I was getting a haircut…
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Notes From My Journal
Nicaragua? Yes, Nicaragua!
On Tuesday, I told you about the results of a Gallup poll that listed Nicaragua as the “No. 1 country where people say they are ‘always’ or ‘almost always’ at peace.” Nicaragua? Surprising? At first, yes. I…
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Notes From My Journal
What Is the Country Whose Citizens Are the Most Content?
A friend sent a report on a Gallup poll about the countries that have the happiest people. Well, that’s not precisely right. It wasn’t about happiness. It was about contentment. Many such surveys are based on…
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Notes From My Journal
My Statin Story Continues…
In the Friday issue, I wrote about the chronic fatigue and bouts of brain fog I've been experiencing since I began taking statins. I met with Dr. B to talk about my concerns. He didn’t seem surprised. He wrote…
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Notes From My Journal
Why Am I Falling Behind?
Since my stroke in September, I’ve been losing ground on my to-do list. One example: I have three email inboxes. A red-flagged one that I try to answer within 24 hours. An orange-flagged one that I try to…
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Notes From My Journal
A Fitness Program for 2023
Good for the Young as Well as the Older Since my stroke three months ago, I’ve been trying to get back into my former physical shape. I want to reclaim my strength, speed, flexibility, and stamina – the things…
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Notes From My Journal
My Grandson Hudson Is Exceptionally Clever And Adorable
There are few things more annoying than talking to someone that can’t stop talking about how clever and cute their little child or grandchild is. It’s understandable as a biological impulse – protection of the…
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Notes From My Journal
Comedy Censorship: The Penultimate Step Before Totalitarianism
Over the last 10 years or so, ideas about fairness and equality have changed drastically in Europe and America. Almost all of it germinated in colleges and universities. And most of it mind-bogglingly stupid…
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Notes From My Journal
What Was The New York Times Thinking?
Sam Bankman-Fried – who was arrested yesterday in the Bahamas after the US filed criminal charges against him – cheated more than one million investors out of billions of dollars. Most of it vanished into thin…
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Notes From My Journal
I came down with something…
It was on my penultimate day in Nicaragua. It began with a dry cough and progressed to a wet cough. I’m fatigued. Otherwise, okay. I’m treating it by drinking liquids and resting. It feels like it will be over…
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Notes From My Journal
Last Saturday Was a Special Day at Rancho Santana…
It was my last day at Rancho Santana after a three-week stay. And I participated in two events that made it extra special. In the afternoon, I attended a sixth-grade graduation ceremony at a local grammar…
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Notes From My Journal
The Ventilator Shortage That Never Materialized
Tuesday’s essay on how the US dealt with Covid provoked a great deal of response (see below). The opinions were mixed, but reading through them this morning, I could see that some people thought I was making…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About Entitlement
It’s unfortunate, but it seems to be a universal trait. I’m talking about Homo sapiens’ ability to feel entitled to anything we become accustomed to. Whether we deserve it or not. I noticed this in business…
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Notes From My Journal
We Were Not Just Wrong. We Were Hysterically Wrong
Part I: The Complaint Think back to the early months of 2020. Do you remember what was happening? Do you remember what we were thinking back then? Do you remember what we were doing? When I think about those…
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Notes From My Journal
Choosing Community Over Comfort In Nicaragua
I’ve been up to my neck in business issues. And yet, it’s Thanksgiving. Surrounded by family, I should be spending most of my time with them. J, my editor, who knew I was feeling the crunch, was kind enough to…
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Notes From My Journal
A New Business Pops Up in Nicaragua
On the trip from the airport in Managua to our house at Rancho Santana, Nestor updated K and me on the local news. The election went off without a hitch, he told us, smiling. Government employees were told to…
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Notes From My Journal
An Introduction to “Realitivity
I’m working on an idea for a book that I will probably never finish. It will exist in the library of two dozen could-be bestsellers that I’ve been working on for years. Like the rest of them, I was excited…
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Notes From My Journal
After the Storm
Late Wednesday afternoon, one of the Mules asked me if we were still planning to have our book club meeting at the cigar club, as planned. I replied, “Why wouldn’t we?” He said, “Because of the storm.” I said…
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Notes From My Journal
What Are My Thoughts?
JS, my editor, thought I should write something about the election results. So, I’ve been thinking about what I think and, so far, I don’t have any thoughts worth writing about. But I do have a feeling about…
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Notes From My Journal
What I Believe: About Gun Control
I think everyone should have the right to own a gun. Or guns. But I also believe in gun control. I can’t, for the life of me, understand the arguments against, at the very least, banning assault weapons. The…
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