Columns

My husband, Peter, and I feel like social butterflies.

Have you picked a number, an age, you’d like to live to – or surpass? One Harvard poll discovered that many people chose 73 as an attainable age. My grandfather and I had birthdays one day apart and the family often celebrated our days together. He would ask me how old I was that day and I would say, for example, “10.” And I would ask his age and he would say, “58.” I would ask how long he expected to live and he would always say 100. To better him, I would always say 120. He lived to 92. I now think I might be able to exceed that 120 number.

I am delighted to report that my mother has come around.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s not fraught with heavy commercialism. It’s more about regrouping as a family. It’s also a time for contemplation, a time for conversations with yourself, with family and friends, about what’s going on in your life. And these familial conversations among those whom we trust can provoke thoughts about what we are doing and why?

I put my feet on the floor, first thing in the morning, and take a look at them.

The Labor Citizen, “America’s oldest continually published labor newspaper,” according to its masthead (published in Willoughby, Ohio), had a leading front page headline this month: “Report: 91% of contractors need workers.” The report was released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA). It found that “construction workforce shortages are affecting nearly all construction firms, undermining the industry’s ability to complete projects on schedule and threatening the success of new federal investments in infrastructure and manufacturing.”

Remember back in 2021, when many in our nation were up in arms about a new law passed in Georgia that reformed how and when individuals could vote in the state? It was big news at the time. Stacey Abrams called it “Jim Crow 2.0” and President Joe Biden called it “Jim Crow in the 21st century.” Many in the media insisted it was an attempt to suppress voter turnout and particularly disenfranchise black and minority voters. The breathless indignation got so bad that the CEOs of Georgia-based Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola both made public statements calling the law “unacceptable,” and Major League Baseball decided to move the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver.

A new password for every site?!?!?

How long should you hold a grudge?

Moore vs. Who… What? Never heard of it? Well, if you haven’t you’ll probably be hearing a lot about it in the not-to-distant future and it’s worth understanding what the case is all about. It’s all about the North Carolina state legislature’s right to gerrymander congressional districts without intervention by state courts regarding the fairness of the districts. It has big implications for Ohio, too.