Something is always on when I do serious writing. It's a burning candle. Sounds a little weird perhaps, but here's why I do it. As most of you know, 99.9% of my writing pertains to history. I like having something that I can see which immediately goes back to a period in historical time, in this case, when people used candles for light. I can look into the light of the burning candle and see a … [Read more...]
March 30, 2014 by
February 28, 2014 by
Here's an exercise for your use of history. Neptune. What's the difference between the past of Earth and the past of Neptune? Answer that; it's not a trick question. I'd say that somewhere on the list of answers is this: people. Earth has people. Neptune doesn't. People are part of the story of Earth's past. Not true for Neptune. Now, what's the difference between the concept of past and the … [Read more...]
February 17, 2014 by
A client and I talked over coffee the other day. Actually, I had similar conversations with two separate clients, individually. They are alumni of Walkshop I, where we re-experience the day when Benjamin Harrison finished processing Major Change. On that day of finished processing, he signed up to serve in the Civil War. The topic we discussed was about the future. Specifically, when you have the … [Read more...]
February 10, 2014 by
War divides. In American history the division caused by war is not just between one side and the other on the battlefield. It's also between those who support in and believe in the war and its waging, and those who do not. In this sense, the two wars that flowed out of 9-11—Afghanistan and the Second Gulf War—were no different than any other war in American history. They divided. Paul Berman … [Read more...]
February 10, 2014 by
War divides. In American history the division caused by war is not just between one side and the other on the battlefield. It's also between those who support in and believe in the war and its waging, and those who do not. In this sense, the two wars that flowed out of 9-11—Afghanistan and the Second Gulf War—were no different than any other war in American history. They divided. Paul Berman … [Read more...]
February 10, 2014 by
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated recently that the American military is undergoing a major review of itself. He explained that this was not unusual--the military often does this after a major war or wars. Routine. OK. Routine. But I want you to go a little deeper here. When you have a predictable basis for review and reflection, that suggests you may fall … [Read more...]
February 10, 2014 by
I tried something with the group from the U.S. District Attorney's Office, the session I did on the 1721 smallpox epidemic in Boston. As you may know, I like to have a group work through a historical situation as it really happened--from week to week, as unknown events and situations emerge. That's the river of history I talk and write about so often. In this case, I did something new with this … [Read more...]
January 21, 2014 by
On MLK weekend, my family and friends convene every year at Spring Mill State Park in southern Indiana. In the park is a historic grist mill, circa 1830s. Two houses stand near the mill, original to the village. Two of my best friends joined me in a casual conversation in the snow-covered yard and garden between the houses and next to the mill. Roughly 180 years ago, friends and families stood on … [Read more...]
January 16, 2014 by
I hiked this morning. I saw things. A robin looking lonely. A blue jay gliding over the surface of a river, rushing somewhere. A collection of mallard ducks floating on the surface, waiting, eating. Trees chewed by a beaver, falling the way he didn't want them to go. Animal tracks; three or four deer. Human footprints. Mine, too. And as the snow fell, all of them covered up. Erased. I heard … [Read more...]
