Tag Archives: history

Naming Evil

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Boz

I write today in the bloody wake of the most recent in an increasingly frequent series of mass killings–this time, the deaths of 58 country music fans at the hands of a gunman poised 32 floors above the concert venue … Continue reading →

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Something Old

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Boz

I still have the tattered Golden Book of Nursery Tales (1948) and Mother Goose Book of Nursery Rhymes (1953) presented to me at birth. At a time in my life when preserving the past evidently mattered less to me, I removed the … Continue reading →

Posted in cemetery, education, history, language, memories, photography, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Charlottesville, Boston, Berkeley and the Desecration of the First Amendment

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Boz

August 19, 2017 Speaking my mind today may be impolitic. However, because what I fear most is the silence following the premature death of the First Amendment, speak I must. I am reminded of Paul’s recital of his unblemished pedigree: … Continue reading →

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Erasing History: The 2017 Version

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Boz

“In February 1948, the Communist leader Klement Gottwald stepped out on to the balcony of a Baroque palace in Prague to harangue hundreds of thousands of citizens massed in Old Town Square. That was the great turning point in the … Continue reading →

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Reading, Watching–and Smelling–World War I

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Boz

More than a year ago, I decided to observe the centenary of World War I by using it as the theme of my English composition classes devoted to writing across the curriculum.  To that end, I have immersed myself in a wide assortment of … Continue reading →

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50 Years Ago: My 15 Minutes on the Front Page

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Boz
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Metatext: Memories in the Margins

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Boz

Two weeks ago, on March 18, I saw The Sense of an Ending on the second day of its run at the Cameo Art House Theater in Fayetteville. In 2011–specifically, “Thanksgiving 2011, Lake Mattamuskeet” according to my notation on the flyleaf–I read … Continue reading →

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Choices, Choices: The Quandaries and the Quagmire of Identity Politics

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Boz

My 56-mile commute to and from work has spawned the bad habit of scrolling through my emails at stoplights. A few days ago, I made a mental note to return to an article whose provocative title I noted only briefly; it … Continue reading →

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The Tale of John Leak and His Foot of Clay

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Boz

Once upon a time, spring had begun for the more than 4,000 people in a booming Southern town named after the Marquis de Lafayette. Trees and shrubs—forsythia, azaleas, redbuds, and wild cherries— provided a dazzling palette of yellow and pink … Continue reading →

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E Plebnista: A Sardonic Meditation on American Greatness

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Boz

Twenty long days have passed since I last put thoughts to words and words to (virtual) paper. I have not written about the gleeful euphoria with which I anticipated the election of 2016, the exquisite pain with which I learned of … Continue reading →

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