Category Archives: Commentary

The Dow Factor

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. In keeping with the season, I’d like to salute the Dow Chemical Corporation of Midland, Michigan. It can be argued that Dow is responsible for making millions of women aware of breast cancer, in the most direct way possible. In 1960, one out of 20 American women was diagnosed […]

The Sky Falls in Pieces

A few months ago, I attended a discussion between environmentalists and journalists. The two sides were trading impressions of each other in a Seattle microbrewery. One of the themes sounded by the journalists was that too often, environmentalists cry “the sky is falling” when in fact, it is not. Some of the journalists allowed that […]

The Last Time I Had Crabs

Once, and only once, have I ever dined on Alaskan Red King crab. It was long ago, in South Carolina, and someone else was paying for my meal. But I remember it well – cracking open the legs, sliding the firm flesh into the tubs of melted butter. I violated one of the seven deadly […]