Month

As I put these words onto page (or electrons onto screen), the news is full of news that I consider pretty good. The states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada have all certified the results of the election. Our president-elect Joe Biden has selected cabinet members and senior aides who appear reasonable, competent, and capable. John Kerry will be spearheading efforts to combat climate change. Vaccines appear to be

NOW THAT the team of Biden and Harris have been elected President and Vice President—and heavens, does it feel good to type that!—I keep thinking about the good people who died before they could see this day. Plenty of valiant famous folk deserve acknowledgment, but I keep thinking of Sam Lieberman, who was in my Bar Mitzvah class all those years ago, and as an adult made a long list of contributions to the people of

The title of this post, minus the bit about the election, comes from a short story by Ernest Hemingway that I dubbed my favorite back when I was in eighth or ninth grade, for reasons I can’t remember. The narrator, who I suppose is a stand-in for the author, is sequestered in the hospital but neither dying nor seriously ill. The nun wants to listen to the USC-Notre Dame football game but is nervous about the ou