Category: Essays

  • Prompt: Crisis

    For about the last five or six years, my life has been one crisis after another – or maybe the whole period could be classified as a single crisis. In any case there is light at the end of the tunnel, so I have decided to write about a long ago crisis that probably shaped…

  • Prompt: Living in the South

    To begin, I want to emphasize that I do not consider Charlottesville to be in the “South” any more than I consider Washington, DC, a southern city. Even though it is not a large city, the City of Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia, is truly cosmopolitan. As one ventures farther from the city,…

  • A Tale of Two Barbaras

    Again this is a story driven by my college days in the early 60’s at Trinity College in Washington, DC. One of my good friends in those days was a chemistry student named Barbara who was from New York City. She was such an interesting person to talk to because she always had so much…

  • Prompt: Predictions for the New Year/New Decade

    I can’t even begin to make predictions for our country or the world with such earth shattering events happening every time we turn around. Even the day ahead is hard to predict these days! But I will hazard a guess about my own life. I predict that in the new year I will become a…

  • Prompt: Post-Holiday Emotions

    At the end of this holiday season, I think I feel most in tune with the snowman who is flat on his face ! I spotted this scene one morning when out for a morning stroll through our beautiful grounds here at the Colonnades after a windy night. The holidays were fun, and I really…

  • Do You Believe in Chance, Coincidence, or Fate?

    Do You Believe in Chance, Coincidence, or Fate?

    A great question! I majored in chemistry and later taught science and computer science courses in both high school and college. I have always considered myself a methodical, logical scientific thinker.  Therefore, I should be answering that OF COURSE, chance or coincidence would explain everything that happens to us. How on earth could it possibly…