Properly Grateful…Joy of Giving

I like to think that I count my blessings every day, not just on Thanksgiving Day.  This year, I've had numerous occasions to reflect on the manifest blessings in my life, and my country.  I was fortunate to be born in the United States of America, which has, since its founding in the 18th Century, …

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Photo Essay: University of Cambridge, Summer 1991

I admit it.  I am a total Anglophile.  I'm a sucker for a British accent, and since a trip around Britain in 1984, I fell in love with the city of Cambridge.  In the summer of 1991, I was fortunate enough to attend a three-week program put on by UCLA in Cambridge.  Attendees could take …

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Ornate

This is the sanctuary at St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Church in Camden, New Jersey, during their 120th Anniversary celebration in 2012.  The priest is Polish, and there is a Polish-language Mass daily.  My husband grew up not far from here, and went to this church, and graduated from the parochial high school here (now defunct). …

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Medieval Music…Long Form Writing

In the summer of 1991, I went to Cambridge, England for a UCLA Summer Program.  We lived for three weeks in Trinity Hall College (founded in the 14th Century to train canon lawyers), Trinity Hall, Cambridgeand were able to take one of four different courses, taught by dons of the various colleges.  I took a …

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What Happened to the Black People in Jazz?

Last evening, my husband and I went to a concert given by the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, and as usual we were treated to a wonderful evening of exciting jazz big-band music.  The group has been around for 20 years, playing the music of all the great names in jazz.  Here is a picture of …

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Coarsening the Culture

It started with an essay in the (supposedly) high-minded publication for Wall Street Journal subscribers, WSJ Magazine.  This comes out every other month in the print edition, and is a slick magazine designed to appeal to high-income readers.  It is filled with ads for expensive clothing, watches, and jewelry, and features stories about people and …

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Giving-It’s That Time of Year

So, why do people give?  What makes giving to others a good thing?  Some would say that giving is to help other people, perhaps those defined as "needy"; i.e. the purpose of giving is to improve the situation (emotional or material) of others.   As you might imagine, the motivations for giving have been extensively …

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