tucsonmike

Founding Fathers Young people tell me I'm out of touch for believing in the American Founding Fathers. I'm told…

Journey to a Protest  I went to a Black Lives Matter rally at the University of Arizona. OK, so did many others.…

A Heartfelt Birthday Present Many of you know the story of Paddington Bear, the bear found in Paddington…

Mr. Carson of Downton Abbey I’ve written before about Downton Abbey and my favorite character, the butler Mr.…

John Cleese and Eric Idle Come to Tucson Those who know me, know I’m a major fan of Monty Python.  In the Spring,…

An Olympic Presidential Election I didn’t think I would be writing the essay, but the words on this page prove…

In the United States, Redshirting is a term for college sports

A Jewish Mother in Rwanda I grew up around Jewish mothers and worry. I remember a Mad Magazine skit from…

Why Must I Learn English? No, not for me. English is my first language (OK, I sort of lied, Brooklynese is).…

Trump vs Sanders This may or may not happen in the general election for 2016, but my silly sense of humor, with…

Even calling himself “The Donald,” can raise hackles

“Grandpa, you promised to take me out on Lake Champlain. Why are you running for President?”

I was watching the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and a terrible thought crossed what passes for my mind

Trump's New Year Fights It's a New Year, there are new Donald fights. Again, I am leaning more toward silly,…

Rwandan Genocide Survival Picture a mountainous nation that is supposed to be beautiful. It's known as “The Land…

Teutoburg Forest I had heard of Boris Johnson before I started reading his books. I read his Churchill book, and…

South African Weapon of Mass Destruction It's not the atomic or hydrogen bomb. It's something more insidious. It…

Have you thought this before?

Trump Skewering the American Presidential Race This essay turned out to be more serious than originally…

An inquisitive thirteen-year-old and an older woman, who isn't wiser

The Wind in the Reeds: If you don't know who Wendell Pierce is, first watch HBO's The Wire and Treme and read this…

One hundred and seven years since the last World Series victory

Be Yourself You've probably read this in many different places, but I'm giving you my take on it. I'm not sure…

This isn't a Kumbaya moment

I would be airmailed off the Brooklyn Bridge with weights

I've been on the wrong side of a Sicilian stare before

No Legal Residence I saw this chilling line in the Hidden Pope about Pope John II's childhood friend Jerzy…

Inventing While Islamic Fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed invents a clock. When does the high school celebrate…

When You Are Wealthy: Salon Magazine had an article about the United States heading the way of the end of the…

You can watch it happening on a screen

I am a Yank, but I am also an Anglophile. I enjoy things British

Academic Freedom I just read a chilling article in the Atlantic, called The Coddling of the American Mind.…

You don't have to pull people out of burning buildings

Meeting and having chemistry may or not be deliberate. Ashley Madison can be nothing but deliberate.

Fans of The New York Mets I grew up as a fan of the “other” baseball team in New York City. You know…

Trump as Julius Caesar? I'm not sure how he'd look in a toga. No, I am not sleep-deprived or sillier than usual.…

Cecil: A Lion with a Name Why do people care about Cecil? Lots of lions and other wildlife are killed in Africa,…

A More Disciplined United States? Much of this will be a “Do as I say, not as I did.” Negative experiences can…

Time to stop being mouthy

Why is Trump running?

African-Americans and whites protesting outside the South Carolina State House

Will Greece be Given a Grexit? I wondered if I were a misbehaving state, could I be thrown out? South Carolina was…

What's in a Flag? I'm starting with a disclaimer. As with many television programs saying you may be offended,…

I thought this case would be easy. It was anything but

Poverty in the United States I just finished reading 'Hand to Mouth' by Linda Tirado. Her original essay went…

General George S. Patton Murdered or Killed in Accident? This was interesting to write about, with the Seventieth…

My Cat is Eating me It was 4 a.m. on a Saturday morning. My well-earned rest from a week at work was disturbed…

I would try to read, and he would come up on my lap. Trying to write? Forget about it

People would call in saying, the snowdrift was a 'Gronk' and a half high

Castle Belichick The New York Times Magazine cover story on Super Bowl Sunday was about Tom Brady. The…

My take on American Football and the issues I would like to cover

The 2024 Summer Olympics 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston? Boston is now the United States finalist for the 2024…

Isn’t this an oxymoron? Maybe, but look at this essay as a silly movie review.

Manspreading Manspreading?!  -  I will begin with the serious part, but most of this will be sarcastic. This New…

The DNA of Richard III Even with my interest in English History, I never developed that much interest in Richard…

One major discussion has been about racial profiling. I can now safely tell you I have been profiled

The Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series for more than a century

It was a bright sunny day in Mesa Verde, though Diana Sanchez, dispatcher extraordinaire was fielding some very…

"Ask your mother," Anastase said softly. "Mom will say no," he wailed. I burst out laughing

My Rwandan friend Anastase and I have started working on his biography. This is from a few years ago

The first act is what he said in the interview. A 25% tax on all Chinese goods coming here. We are defaulting on…

...or The Illinois Wisconsin Border War. What is going on with the protests in Wisconsin is serious. I could not…

The Battle Of Southie September 12th, 1974: Ray Lynch thought he’d seen enough conflict in Vietnamese Rice…

What’s a Girl Gotta Do (With apologies to country singer Joe Nichols) The administrator of Cottonwood Assisted…

Meeting With Susi Baldwin The story of Susi Baldwin begins for me in January 1976, a cold January. It is the…

Kids Will be Kids Phone calls to the Mesa Verde Police Department were normally about a cat up a tree, so two…