While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in...
Thinking About Death
While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in a recent late-night phone call that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. (To preserve my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
Chris Hedges5
Can Radical Empathy Turn the Tide?
I spent the Labor Day weekend at my country retreat in midcoast Maine where I own a cottage on a quiet country road sprinkled with modest homes. I make a practice of taking daily walks on this road, which I like to think of as my walking meditations. On Saturday I stopped in my tracks after noticing a flag at a home’s entrance. The words [...]
Pat Taub
Ukraine, Two Brilliant Films, Hillary Mantel & More!
Ukraine Horrors As the war in the Ukraine escalates and brings all kinds of horrors, like the possibility of a nuclear plant being struck emitting dangerous levels of radiation, and untold numbers of innocent deaths, my heart is heavy. While we need to rally around the Ukrainians, I long for less war talk and more efforts at diplomacy. For [...]
Pat Taub
Key West, Political Turbulence, A Good Read & More!
Key West Arrival After a flying mishap where I was forced to leave a day late due to a late Portland departure and missed connections, I’m finally ensconced in Key West. I’m sharing a rental with an old friend for the month of January. It’s lovely to shed winter apparel for T-shirts and my faithful khakis. Yesterday I volunteered with [...]
Pat Taub
Coping with Political Despair
During my church’s coffee hour this past Sunday I found myself in conversation with a politically concerned young woman who was eager to discuss Michelle Goldberg’s New York Times op-ed, “Democracy Grief is Real.” The gist of the essay is that Trump has induced profound political despair among liberals. My companion felt validated [...]
Pat Taub
Where Do We Go From Here?
Many of us are struggling with this question as we try to process last week’s heinous hate crimes where a Trump disciple mailed pipe bombs to many of Trump’s sworn enemies; where a white racist killed two elderly African Americans in cold blood in a Kentucky market; where 11 mostly elderly men and women were murdered at Pittsburgh’s [...]
Pat Taub