The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. The author of The Underground Railroad has done it again, this time with a story of a prison-like reform school in Florida. Worse-than-Dickensian abuse occurred throughout this narrative, based on the real-life revelation five years ago about the Dozier School for Boys in the Florida panhandle town of Marianna. …
Category: Culture
Books to consider, pt. 1 – non-fiction
The hammering from daily political news has kept me away from devouring my normal quota of books on contemporary politics. If you too are on overload, here are some non-fiction alternatives I've recently enjoyed. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candace Millard, published in 2006, was loaned to me by thoughtful neighbors …
Learning from history – again
Philosopher George Santayana famously said in 1905 that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Winston Churchill liked the lesson so well that 43 years later he intoned, "Those who cannot learn from history are condemned to repeat it." Either wording, we get the idea. Would that Donald Trump were as …
Ireland has something for everyone
Massachusetts is officially the most Irish state in the country, with nearly 22 percent of residents being of Irish ancestry. Considering how many of the politicians I've covered are "Irish," it is surprising that only recently did I travel to the Emerald Isle. The month of June changed that, and what a treat it was. …
Make it to the zoo this summer
Franklin Park Zoo isn't my grandfather's zoo, or the one my father took me to eons ago. It isn't even the zoo I took my children and grandchildren to. It's becoming a jewel of a zoo, with animal attractions for people of all ages, from the entertaining antics of the prairie dogs to the graceful …
Trump for Ireland is no laughing matter
Despite our desire for a Trump-free ten days in Ireland, our President was on too many minds over there. Landing at Shannon Airport, we had to pass the VIP Lounge where just days before Trump and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar met because Varadkar didn't want an official visit to be at Trump's golf course, …
Anti-vaxxers jeopardize more than their own children
Apparently having their unvaccinated children barred from school since December wasn't enough to persuade some New York area parents to get their kids inoculated against measles, mumps and rubella. So Rockland County, just north of Manhattan, has now barred those under 18 years of age and not vaccinated from being in public places. And that's …
Continue reading Anti-vaxxers jeopardize more than their own children
Trump shares blame for white supremacist attacks
Whether he admits it or not, Donald Trump's explicit summons to hate and his dog-whistle signals have helped to encourage white supremacists at home and abroad. Worse, his administration is undoing programs designed to deal with the problem. The gunman who slaughtered 50 people in two New Zealand mosques was allegedly motivated by online white …
Continue reading Trump shares blame for white supremacist attacks
Fiction suggestions, as promised
Regular readers of my blog have expressed their displeasure that, when I wrote my last blog on non-fiction books, I promised a follow-up blog with my recent adventures in fiction but failed to do so. In the spirit of some unnamed Virginia politicians, I apologize for the lapse and humbly offer the following. The Orphan …
I wouldn’t want to be Robert Kraft
Shock, disgust, schadenfreude, anger and pity for the mighty one who has fallen due to his own flawed character. Shock, because I still remember the Bob and Myra Kraft who lived modestly in Newton decades ago, always opening up their home to good liberal causes. Disgust, because of the tawdry nature of the allegations and …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 