Author Archives: Jim

Serving with the Greatest Generation

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Jim

I couldn’t help watching the TV coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It’s a moving and pivotal episode in our history and a reminder of values that often are forgotten today.  I got acquainted with the Greatest Generation when I … Continue reading →

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University of Intifada

Posted on May 5, 2024 by Jim

When I graduated from Northwestern University in 1964, most of my fellow students were supporting Barry Goldwater for President. Now my old school is capitulating to anti-Israel activists. The university agreed to consider divesting from Israel and subsidize more Palestinian … Continue reading →

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My new ride is a technology trip

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Jim

Buying a new car used to be an exhilarating experience: gleaming metal, that new-car smell and the sensation of commanding a more capable machine. I’m finding it a little more complicated. My first new car in 17 years is an … Continue reading →

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The old headquarters building

Posted on November 21, 2023 by Jim

They’re renovating the building where I spent most of my career. The former Illinois Bell Telephone headquarters in downtown Chicago was sold some years ago. It’s about to re-emerge as an updated office tower and just landed a law firm … Continue reading →

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Communicating during a strike

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Jim

In 1968 I celebrated Labor Day in the middle of a strike. I was hired by Illinois Bell Telephone’s public relations department when I got out of the Navy in April of that year, shortly after a five-month strike began. … Continue reading →

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The drama of the HOA

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Jim

I joined a growing trend three years ago when I sold my sprawling house in Albuquerque and built a smaller home in an active-adult community in nearby Los Lunas. Folks my age are living longer than previous generations and active-adult … Continue reading →

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Operation Homecoming

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Jim

I was waiting on the tarmac at Glenview Naval Air Station when they arrived on a cold night in March 50 years ago. The American former prisoners of war had been released from North Vietnam. Now they were on their … Continue reading →

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Why we need more immigration

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Jim

Okay, the border is a mess. Even the news media are beginning to admit it. But we still need more immigrants because Americans aren’t making enough babies and are not growing the talent we need to sustain the country.  The … Continue reading →

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The hidden promise of artificial intelligence

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Jim

Futurists and science-fiction writers have been warning us about artificial intelligence for years. Movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey advanced the notion that computers eventually will be smarter than we are and ultimately will take over. Open the pod bay doors, Hal. … Continue reading →

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St. Pat’s in the desert

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Jim

One of the few things I miss about my hometown of Chicago is St. Patrick’s Day. Even though my ancestry is Scottish and Hungarian, every Chicagoan is Irish on St Pat’s Day and that’s what makes it special.  Not that … Continue reading →

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