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Sliding into first base is dumb. Diving head first into a thick, immovable bag at top speed can result in injury and is almost always unnecessary. In baseball a runner can run through first base without the risk of being tagged out by the simple method of turning right after…
Read moreThe painters noticed it first, the beauty of the place. To the Native-Americans it was mostly about the clams, how they littered the banks, the sandy shores strewn with their cast off shells, pried and discarded by the Wabanaki who came here to fish and hunt. In 1604 French explorer…
Read moreIn 1995 the richest casino in the world was not located in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. It was located in Ledyard, CT. Foxwoods Resort Casino operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe enjoyed gross earnings exceeding $1 billion, with net earnings in excess of $300 million. Because it was…
Read moreIn a country constituted of immigrants and the progeny of immigrants, immigration is surprisingly thorny issue in America. It is often said that Native Americans are the only real Americans. Everyone else is an immigrant. But even that’s not true. The ancestors of Native Americans arrived in North America 15,000…
Read moreAndrew Jackson was a tough customer. At the age of fourteen, while acting as a courier for the American forces in the Revolutionary War, he was captured by the red coats. When a British officer tried to make him polish his boots, Jackson refused, whereupon the officer slashed him repeatedly…
Read moreAs winter gives way to spring and COVID restrictions begin to lift, many people are contemplating a road trip this summer. Travel during the pandemic has been a dream when it comes to the cost of fuel, but the promise of more people hitting the road has already driven gas…
Read moreHave you ever wondered why some hotel chains vary in quality? Go to one Best Western, and it’s clean, well-organized, modernized, rich with amenities. But go to another and it’s a bit out-of-date, a tad run down, a little seedy. What’s going on? This is by no means limited to…
Read moreOn December 6th, 2020 San Francisco locked down for the second time in nine months. You could almost hear the collective groan from residents long accustomed to enjoying the lively social life the city has to offer. For at least the next eight weeks San Franciscans were to remain in…
Read moreWhen I was a boy of about nine I had a sexual awakening. A friend and I were wandering along a rural road, kicking cans, throwing stones and inspecting the debris along the roadside, when we came upon a pile of discarded magazines. It was quite a find. Those magazines…
Read moreHistory cannot be forced on a people. In 1983 the people of Africatown tried to get their neighborhood declared a National Historic Park. It was a non-starter. Not only was their plan opposed by the adjacent International Paper Co. plant, which was reportedly eyeing the land for possible expansion, but…
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