Germans probably don’t realize it, but Pandora’s Box just opened. The COVID-19 pandemic is about to bring permanent, unintended, social change. Am I the only one who sees this? You know the myth, or at least you should, so I won’t repeat it. Once Pandora opened that box she couldn’t get the lid back on […]

  I guess rigs like this are more common than not these days, distancing passengers from the  person driving their bus. On Sunday, when I first saw this, I thought maybe the driver was taking his own precautions in not allowing people to board by the front door and making sure they couldn’t get near […]

There’s never a beach around when you need one. Which means I’m not sure how I feel about A Conspiracy Of Bones, the new novel from Kathy Reichs, published today. I spend two weeks each summer on vacation in Maine, sitting on the beach all day and devouring mysteries and thrillers from the local library. […]

I was going to post something about COVID-19 today. It is the hot topic after all. However, if you are like me you are probably getting sick of hearing about coronavirus. Tell me something new, don’t repeat the same information. But there is nothing new. The virus will spread. Most people will get it. The […]

Sometimes there are little surprises. Ties to history you didn’t realize were there. I was walking along the main street of my wife’s ancestral home town, Lippstadt, in northern Germany. It was there I cam across this bust. I recognized the name, Martin Niemöller. I hadn’t realized he was from Lippstadt. Niemöller was a pastor […]

Are you getting the same emails I am? Three airlines so far have let me know this week how much they care about me. I feel valued.  Well, not really. I don’t really need assurances that you are doing extra cleaning on your airplane cabins. Or that you are waiving fees for ticket changes. Pardon […]

I was planning on going to the hockey game tonight. Then the season was canceled. I’m not sure how I feel about that. The Freiburg Wolves were at the bottom of the league during my first two seasons here, fighting to avoid relegation. This season the team was a powerhouse, one I could see taking […]

Are you as confused as I am? Or have Canada’s leaders lost touch with reality? You have to be 16 to get a driver’s licence. Eighteen to vote. And that isn’t all. There are age restrictions on who can smoke tobacco or marijuana, or legally drink alcohol. You can’t serve in the military until you […]

I was wandering in downtown Bern, the Swiss capital, when I came across this monument commemorating the founding of the Universal Postal Union. It is amazing what is sometimes found to be worthy of public art. Sending something by mail seems almost a forgotten reminder of another era in these days of electronic communication. I […]

I have never traveled further south in the USA than New York City. Which is probably why I had never heard of Sean Dietrich, who blogs as “Sean of the South.” He’s a big deal down there. That means I didn’t know what to expect with Will The Circle Be Unbroken, which hits stores today. […]