The song says “Summertime and the livin’ is easy”. August is the height of summer vacation season. We call it the “Dog Days” because the dog star Sirius rises at the same time as the sun. The ancient Greeks figured it out. August used to be called “Sextilis” because it was originally the sixth month on the Roman calendar. Then the Romans added January and February pushing August to the eighth month, and it only had 29 days. Julius Caesar decided to create his own calendar, the Julian, of course. He did give August two extra days. Maybe to try to make up for the push back, or maybe to give us two more days before we have to go back to school. It finally got the name Augustus from the first Roman emperor Caesar Augustus. Emperors can do that. We use the term to mean the hot, humid, let’s jump in the pool days before we have to go back to work and school. Even presidents go on vacation in August.

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The two weeks of Republicans and Democrats telling us what’s wrong with the country, who is to blame, and how they are going to fix it have left us with the tale of two countries. As the two gladiators climb into the ring for the ultimate prize, they will be fighting not only for our votes, but they will be making us look at ourselves to determine what kind of a society we want. We have never had two candidates for president like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both are the first of a kind with dramatically different views of what it means to be an American, and how we should view ourselves and our role in the world. Their showdown comes after the first 16 years of a new century where our national sense of self has been shaken to the core.

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One of the big stories to come out of the bizarre Republican Convention was Melania Trump being accused of plagiarizing Michelle Obama, of all people, in her speech on the first night of the convention. It just snowballed and got more bizarre. First an out of work Tampa journalist discovers the word for word lifting of phrases from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech. Then the Trump campaign denies it. Then the two former George W. Bush speechwriters, who were asked to write a speech for Melania Trump, say their speech was completely changed, except for one phrase, and they were never consulted. Then finally, Meredith McIver, a former ballerina, who is a writer for the Trump organization, says she was responsible for the plagiarism. She claims Melania Trump had read Michelle Obama’s speech and liked it, and asked her to re-write the speech using some of the phrases. McIver says she never checked Obama’s speech herself.  She admitted she made a terrible mistake, and offered to resign. Trump refused her resignation, saying everyone makes mistakes. This was a big one. (more…)

It cost five dollars. It was five feet across and a foot deep. It was plastic and blue. I bought it last year for our four little granddaughters to play in at our house at the Jersey shore. Last Fourth of July our two sons, their wives and their daughters were all here together for the holiday. The kids played in the pool. We took pictures. This past weekend my older son and his wife were here, and their girls played in the pool. We’re looking forward to my younger son and his family coming next week. But his girls won’t be able to play in the pool. Someone stole it.

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It’s been just over 31 years since the worst day in Philadelphia’s history. It was the most difficult and frightening day for one local television news operation that stood up to the challenge, and upheld the highest standards of journalism under tremendous pressure. If you are old enough, and from Philadelphia, you probably know about MOVE. It’s been described as a back to nature cult lead by a man named Vincent Leaphart who called himself John Africa. They believed in revolution against authority. They ate raw fruits and vegetables. They didn’t use soap. Wouldn’t kill animals, even bugs. They wore long dredlocks. They believed John Africa was god.

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Rory, Jordan, and Jason. They may not be known just by their first names yet like Arnie, Jack, and Tiger. But Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day are more than just the three best golfers in the world. They’re the refreshing, youthful face of sports. Three exceptionally gifted athletes from around the world we can root for and admire. Every golfer is amazed by their strength, accuracy, and steady hands as they play a game at the highest level. While the rest of us play a game with the same rules, but that’s about as close as we get to what they seem to do so effortlessly. But, there is much more we can learn from these three guys.

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It’s unofficially the start of summer, and we feel frustrated, helpless and angry. The only happy person seems to be the laughing  woman in the Chewbacca mask who became the latest internet sensation and even got to ride to work with James Corden. A recent poll of voters by AP and the NORC Center for Public Affairs says seventy per cent of us say we are frustrated with the presidential race. Over fifty per cent of us say we feel angry and helpless. There is some good news. Sixty five per cent of us say we are interested in the race, and thirteen per cent say we are proud of what’s going on. Although, I think it may be hard to find the proud ones.  With all this interest and frustration, can we get more than fifty per cent of eligible voters to actually go to the polls?

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It marks the beginning and the end at the same time. It’s your coming out party into the adult world. It’s the end of your life in the cocoon of childhood, your teenage years, and those college years where you had the last chance to be carefree, and yes, stupid. You could put that college debt out of your mind until you graduated and got a job. I understand that these years aren’t carefree for everyone who has to work their way through school, and whose families have to struggle to get them through to the big day. Graduation Day. Proud families show up on campus for the ceremony. Caps and gowns. Processions. Pomp and Circumstance, and, of course, the Commencement speaker. The person who is suppose to inspire you as you take that big step out of the cocoon.

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It has fewer than 80 pages. It’s a book every writer, reporter, and anyone interested in writing just about anything should have. “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk and E.B. White is a simple guide to beautiful writing. It was originally written, and privately published in 1919, by Cornell University professor William Strunk  who used it as a text book for his students. Fortunately for all of us, E.B. White was one of those students. White went on to become one of the great writers and literary figures of the 2oth century. He started out as wire service and newspaper reporter, and worked in advertising before joining The New Yorker magazine staff in 1927 where he worked for decades. He was called the greatest contributor to what was considered America’s greatest literary magazine. If that wasn’t enough, he wrote several children’s books, including “Charlotte’s Web” which one readers’ survey identified it as the top children’s novel.

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We all have the dates of days that are important to us. Birthdays, anniversaries, deaths. As someone interested in history, and its impact on the present and future, I’m probably a little too obsessed with historical dates. But they give me a guidepost to events and help me understand the flow of history. It makes me think about the impact the event had on people that day, and how we view those events today. Next week one will be the anniversary of one of the most significant events in 20th century world history. Do you know what happened on May 8, 1945? Depending on your age, it’s more likely your parents or grandparents may know. It’s V-E Day. Victory in Europe. The day the Germans surrendered ending to end World War II in Europe. Millions gathered in Times Square, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Trafalgar Square in London to celebrate the triumph over evil and death. It wouldn’t be until three months later, August 14, 1945 that the war would be completely over. Of course, you know that’s V-J Day. Victory in Japan. Again, huge crowds gathered around the world. We’ve all seen the picture of the sailor kissing the nurse. Right?

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