He and I craned our heads up at the giant windmills. I cracked a joke about newfangled inventions…
Category: Essays
HMPRESENTLY: What’s What… With Who’s Who?
“I feel very optimistic about our ability to have great relationships to cities,” noted Mr. Chesky, who thinks his business may be trending toward “becoming less transient…”
ESSAY: Will COVID Vaccination Get You a Date?
As cold weather descended upon Washington, DC, last fall, I deleted my dating apps….
HMPRESENTLY: The World’s Next, Best Cuss Word
Cuss words have evolved, over the years. In the 18th century, ‘bloody’ was considered a nasty word…
HMPRESENTLY: God Help!… Perhaps?
I’ve always respected conservative Republican thinking, with regard to big government, states’ rights and spending. Years ago, I even received a very nice message, about an article I’d written…
ESSAY: 90 Years of Progress
Schools had government-mandated prayers, and biology classes didn’t mention evolution. Buying a cocktail or lottery ticket was a crime. Birth control was illegal in some states…
HMPRESENTLY: ‘Mightier Than the Sword’
Sometimes, it’s some way something’s said by someone. Or, it’s words in a song, a poem… or news and commentary…
HMPRESENTLY: Miles Apart, But Much in Common
But even when we’ve had heavy snowfall up in the mountains, for one reason or another, in past years, annual snow survey results have been disappointing…
ESSAY: A Blizzard… A Power Outage… A Failure of the Heart
For days, 2.5 million residents in Texas were left without power, killing at least 17 people…
HMPRESENTLY: Speaking of ‘Programmatic’…
Advertising executives liked to emphasize the substantial number of impressions their ad campaigns were generating…
HMPRESENTLY: Old Places… Good Vibes
And we’re wondering, considering the possible presence, and all, if our house, in some way, can sense what’s happening….
HMPRESENTLY: What ‘Good’ Is It, Actually?
Just the word, itself, of course, means something is good. Maybe really, tremendously, fantastically good…
ESSAY: Celebrating the Nation’s Remaining Wetlands
The US Fish and Wildlife’s National Wetlands Inventory determined that between the 1780s and 1980s, the ‘lower 48’ of the United States saw a net loss of about 53% of its total wetlands…
HMPRESENTLY: Are We Actually Talking About Deferred Maintenance?
When it comes to spending money, I’m cautious. And that’s okay, I’ve always believed. But I was overdoing it, I discovered…
ESSAY: Harriet, Ben and Andrew… in Our Wallets
The proposal will place the hero of “Underground Railroad” fame on the face of the $20 bill, while Andrew Jackson’s portrait will be moved to the back …
HMPRESENTLY: Corny… or What?
Why post broadsides on bulletin boards, when we have a community website, and we can also blast-email folks, to keep them informed? I’ll tell you why…
ESSAY: The Hill We Climb Together
The rhythmic recitation by poet Amanda Gorman at the inauguration, her words counterpointed by her twirling hands, awoke a pleasant rush of what the Buddhists call sympathetic joy…
VIDEO: ‘The Hill We Climb’
“But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated…”