A CURE FOR VIOLENCE

Daniel Yankelovich, who passed away at the age of 92 in 2017, was a leading interpreter of trends shaping American and global societies and economies. His firm, Viewpoint Learning, Inc. teaches organizations how to foster new forms of leadership through dialogue rather than debate. In debate, he explained, one assumes that there is a right …

THE MATTRESS AND THE PEA

My husband and I and our mattress finally and literally caved in, and we were forced to abandon the plush pillow-top 17 inch mattress purchased 13 years ago that provided me with countless hours of REM sleep and incredibly pleasant dreams. Strangely, my husband’s side caved in prematurely which provided me the temporary pleasure of …

DISEASE: A CURE FOR THE SPIRIT

Pretty insane to use oxymorons in a title -- not really. Disease termite-dug its way into my young being, threatening my extinction. Disease gnawed at my organs and wracked my brain with high fevers.  I was left only with my spirit, which relentlessly rose, preparing to wage a battle my parents wished they could fight …

DON’T SWEAT THE SHE-CRAB!

Our she-crab soup had quite the reputation.  Tourists requested frozen quarts weeks before their scheduled arrival.  Every spoonful of chewy juicy lump crab was blended with a menagerie of butter, half and half and sherry.  We charged $5.95 for this treat and nobody batted an eyelash over the price until one evening. In walks one …

HOW TO RUN A GOURMET RESTAURANT ON FOUR MICROWAVES AND AN OVEN ON AN ISLAND IN THE SOUTH (PART 2)

It is a book really –hysterical and not always hysterical vignettes that would be accompanied with sumptuously delectable recipes like Berbere salmon, an exotic unlikely combination of 14 spices from around the globe, homemade Caesar salad dressing, tiramisu to make you drunk, She crab soup with lump crabmeat in every scoop, roast rack of pork …

DIFFICULT DIALOGUES

Had I the wherewithal, I would have completed my doctoral dissertation – a contextual analysis words or phrases that constitute true dialogue.  Pretty obvious it would seem.  Not so, since what oftentimes passes for dialogue is simply discussion or, worse, talking “at” not “with” each other, for the following reasons: First, most people converse.  Dialogue …

WHAT IS NORMAL?

As a hook to get my former psychology students started on studying abnormal behavior (which they loved studying anyway), I posed the question, “what is normal?” The responses were as intriguing as the question. After spending much longer on the ensuing discussion than I had intended, we concluded that the concept of normal is almost …

WELCOME TO YOUR GREATER SELF!

Look in the mirror.  No, not the one you are used to. Rather, the one that taps all of the elements of the universe and puts them together in a way that mysteriously appears to have a golden hue.  Now, shake hands with that image. You will find that you are shaking hands with none …

SMILEY FACES ON CAR BUMPERS

Most of us grew up on the song that begins like this: “If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands.”  And all of us obeyed religiously, competing with each other for the loudest clap.  Were we happy?  Hopefully we were, but the idea of objectifying our emotions in this way certainly helped. …

GIFTS FROM OUR DOGS: APPRECIATION

When I was around 12 and fashion was centermost in my life, my mother took me clothes shopping.  She was of the lower working class, a bookkeeper, and saved fastidiously for our upcoming shopping spree.  One hundred dollars, at the time, was an enormous and ridiculously generous sum to lavish on this daughter.  I remember …