Writers usually know better than to try to predict the future.  But sometimes, you just know what is about to happen. It’s a little like the old Sesame Street skit “What happens next?” Then, the kid steps into the puddle. The prohibition against crystal-ball gazing was so strong when I was coming up at The Kansas City Star […]

“Let me get this straight,” the boss told my son, who was putting in for vacation time from his job in Portland. “You want a week off from cooking in my restaurant so you can cook nothing but potatoes and gravy for eight days at Fryeburg. Is that right?” Chris told him yes, he had […]

“Evidence is the only reason to believe that anything is true.” Those words, spoken by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, pretty well sum up how scientists see the world. Those words by Dawkins, an outspoken atheist, may also sum up how the rest of us see science and scientists. So, how has science fallen into […]

It is a cliche that we live in an exceptional country. Some activists even insist that a candidate who doesn’t salute “American exceptionalism” doesn’t deserve our votes. People boasting of our exceptionalism are likely thinking about our personal freedom, winning the race to the moon, inventors, winning almost every war. And the like. I am […]

A friend who attended school in the Mount Blue school district was assigned to write a paper about an occupation he admired or might want to pursue. He wrote about farmers and farming, wrote that without farmers most folks wouldn’t eat. The teacher took a dim view of the paper, said the youngster was aiming […]