When you’re young, the last thing you expect of your friends is that they’ll die. It happens – auto accidents, childhood cancer, that sort of thing – but when it does, it’s nearly always a shock. When we lose friends as kids, it’s nearly always because they move away. I lost two best friends at …
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … You, the mothers who …
Our slide back into fear and loathing is about reading Read More »
When my family moved from southwestern Ohio to northern Virginia in January 1963, it was the oddest sort of culture shock. We were right in the middle of the Civil War centennial, which meant almost nothing in Ohio but was sort of a big deal in Virginia. In fact, the house my parents had purchased …
Let’s not go overboard changing historical names Read More »
During my 30 years or so as a professional journalist and more than 12 years since, there is one way I always judged whether someone’s writing was good. If I read it and was really impressed, one thought always crossed my mind: “I wish I had written that.” One of the first times I felt …
There are two types of people who will read this, those who know me and those who don’t.
Perhaps more accurately, those who know my writing and those
Most of us have heard the term “walking wounded” when it comes to war. Soldiers who have been injured in some way but are still able to function at least well enough to make their way off the battlefield.
