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There’s a tree outside my bedroom window that speaks to me. Yes, speaks with a perfectly symmetrical spray of pine needles that welcomes me when I rise in the morning and bids me adieu when I retire at night. It’s the very same constellation that welcomed me when
Around 1793, Philadelphia was laid low by a yellow fever epidemic. Five thousand lives were lost. A 24-year-old Dolley Todd lost her husband, John. But Dolley soldiered on. Somehow she managed to maintain a sunny disposition that was recorded by one admirer: "Dolley’s radiance raised to
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While downsizing here at home yesterday, I came across a 1983 article from the Maui News that I had not seen since the day it appeared. The author is Doctor William James, and for those who like analytics, let us quote the good doctor here… One example of the amazing
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Sometime early on in my career as an impressionist of Mark Twain, around 1988, I was invited to speak at the new Lloyd George Federal Building in Las Vegas, and once I passed through security, I saw a spectacular portrait of Judge Lloyd George, whom I supposed was long-gone,
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Once upon a time I had the best job in America. At 16 years of age, I was the gas jockey of Orinda Union 76. At closing time, it was my job to swab the bay, which was more fun than you might think. I weighed 140 pounds at the
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With thanks to the Banned Book Club at St. Patrick’s, I was invited to speak in Huckleberry’s behalf, so I thought I’d like to pass my thoughts along to you, the gentle reader, while they’re fresh on my mind… Olivia Clemens wanted her husband to become
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So brief is life, I feel compelled to take this moment to save the world. Necessarily I will need to call upon everything I have learned from our generation to address this daunting task, but here goes… How can we avoid a Third World War? We can avoid the scourge
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Away back in 1673, two noted Canadian etymologists, professors Marquette & Jolliet, elected to explore a river that the Native Canadians called, "Mesippi." So they built themselves a short, though very tall two-story boat, the "Nancy," tall enough to accommodate a bunkbed, and off they
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Henry Hudson…has anybody seen Henry? Has anybody seen the Northwest Passage? These two pieces of profane history have gone missing, and anyone who finds them will win a free trip to Disneyland, or at least Knott's Berry Farm. Let's start our search with Henry. Henry
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As a warmup to celebrating our 250th birthday, I find myself reflecting upon memories regarding the discovery of the Fountain of Youth as I recall them from fourth-grade… The first European to see America, so far as we know, was a Norseman named Barney, sometime around A.D. 986.
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Isn’t it too bad that we are clever enough to create a weapon so powerful as to deter our enemies, then we have to start knocking off our enemies before they replicate that same weapon, and knock us off… Where does it all end? May I humbly suggest Drawing
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It might be safe to say that Moses, the prophet, was the first reporter of record. When Moses received the Ten Commandments, well, this was some heavy news to deliver to an unsuspecting public. I can only imagine the reaction those Commandments might have had in France…“No adultery? Hey,