Author Archives: Jim

Experiment in integration

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Jim

My hometown of Oak Park, IL., is all in for Black Lives Matter and I’m not at all surprised. Because the nearly all-white suburb where I went to high school became a rarity in America: a racially integrated community. Oak … Continue reading →

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When Greenpeace helped the Navy

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Jim

For many years the Navy’s annual Great Lakes cruise deployed a ship on a goodwill tour of Midwest cities to build awareness and boost recruiting. As a Navy reserve public affairs officer in Chicago in the 1980s, I was involved … Continue reading →

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Here’s looking at you

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Jim

I recently attended my first homeowners’ association meeting as a new resident of an over-55 community. Because of the pandemic it was conducted online via Zoom. It worked pretty well once participants were reminded to mute their microphones when they … Continue reading →

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Time for more statues

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Jim

Mobs have declared open season on every aspect of American’s history.  Confederates and abolitionists, Christopher Columbus, Founding Fathers, and the occasional saint are being erased from memory. What an opportunity!  This is the perfect time to deepen our understanding of the … Continue reading →

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The Civil War’s New Mexico sideshow

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Jim

The American Civil War was fought in New Mexico. It was, really, though most histories make no mention of the Confederate invasion in 1862 and its two significant battles. It was a bizarre little sideshow. I’ve been a Civil War … Continue reading →

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Kid reporter at City Hall

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Jim

“Hey, we don’t have any coverage of City Hall. Is it okay if I set up a news beat?” “Sure, kid, go ahead, “my editor replied.  I was a journalism student working part-time and summers at the Austinite, a weekly newspaper … Continue reading →

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The pandemic and institutional co-morbidities

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Jim

It’s probably a healthy sign that people are beginning to talk about what will change once the coronavirus has run its course. There’s a lot of speculation about how things will work now that people are concerned about social distancing … Continue reading →

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Will working at home be the new normal?

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Jim

The Coronavirus is forcibly introducing much of the American workforce to the phonomenon of working at home. I understand what these folks are going through because my late wife and I had a work-at-home household for 16 years. I had … Continue reading →

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The census

Posted on March 21, 2020 by Jim

I got my census invitation in the mail and completed the questionnaire online. Doing my civic duty took about five minutes. It’s a simple process, as it always is every 10 years. The census carries a sense of importance and … Continue reading →

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Downsizing

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Jim

I’m going through a senior rite of passage: downsizing to a smaller house. This has required a lot of thought and soul-searching because I’ve always been a big-house guy. I grew up in a tiny apartment while my parents saved … Continue reading →

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