For many years I would threaten my wife with the possibility of working from home. Her consistent response was, “In sickness and in health, but not for lunch!” A good line but, ultimately, no defense to the onslaught of the…
When the future author of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, arrived in Newport harbor, New York, at eight o’clock on the evening of May 9, 1831, it didn’t take him very long to realize that he was entering a…
It was around a month ago that the eccentric dictator of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow, ordered his government ministers to fumigate the entire country by burning yuzarlik, a perennial herb also known as harmala or Syrian rue, the better to…
This dreadful virus has been a jarring reminder of humans constantly having to play catch-up to those occasions when nature visits us with its unpredictable damaging and sometimes lethal permutations. (This is not to rule out the possible creation of…
An urgent appeal to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper: For every COVID-19 case in North Carolina (4,500 estimated), 125 people have lost their jobs (500,000 unemployed across the state). You created this tragedy. Your executive orders have quarantined healthy individuals…
We are all quarantined now, with the temptation to be quarrelsome. Many of us are stuck in close quarters with loved ones for weeks with no fixed end in sight. Too much familiarity easily curdles into contempt. This comes out…
One persistent prediction arising from our pandemic house arrest is that we’ll have a baby boom in nine months. There are good reasons to doubt this. Sure, people are going to do things to pass the time. Makin’ whoopee is…
It’s day who actually knows of coronavirus quarantine, and my housemates and I are making our plans for once this is all over. Our wish list is quite humble. We just want a night at the pub a few blocks…
I was going to make this Five Quick Things legitimately quick, but I failed. I’d say I’m sorry, but you know I’m not. Besides, there’s a lot going on and a lot that ought to be said. So let’s get…
