Month: August 2004

“I told my friends that we used to get food stamps,” my daughter casually mentioned as we worked together on a project last month. “You what? We never received food stamps.” I put down my work and stared at her. “Well what were all those books of stamps you used to have?” “I think what…

Thanks to an aging society and smaller families, Japan has 17.8 million children under the age of 15 and 19 million pet dogs or cats according to an AP wire story last week. The pet boom reflects the human need to bond with some living creature – any living creature. So Japanese pets enjoy a…

On a bright summer day, there is nothing like strolling bare foot down the airy corridors of the airport to the metal detectors. It used to be so easy to hop a plane and fly across the country. We would arrive minutes before departure, toss our luggage at the agent, hastily confess that no one…

DNA does not lie, but people do. DNA does not determine a person’s worth with a false scale but in Revolutionary America law makers agreed that for the purpose of the census and determining representation, African-American slaves equaled 3/5ths of a person. When a slave was freed, he magically assimilated another 2/5ths of personhood. DNA…

The Michigan grandchildren had one question when their grandfather came to pick them up for a summer visit, “Do you have any toys at your house?” He assured them that we had lots of toys at our house. As my househusband, he wasn’t worried about toys, he had a list of ‘things-to-do’ with the grandchildren…