Archive for January, 2023
One of These Things
Thursday, January 26th, 2023As a child, and as a parent, I’ve watched enough Sesame Street to have its images and songs drilled into my head. One of the most useful is the categorization song: “one of these things is not like the other.” It prompts a child to do a quick compare and contrast. Comparing and contrasting is […]
Keep Your Nose
Thursday, January 19th, 2023Old sayings are a good way to remind us not to do stupid things. For example, I’ve often heard, “Don’t cut your nose off to spite your face.” This phrase warns us against acts of self-harm. We often act out of anger and end up hurting ourselves. For the last sixty years conservative politicians and […]
Eat Real Food
Friday, January 13th, 2023One of the best parts of my job as a historian is reading. Because I work at a small teaching university rather than a large research university, I take a broad approach to my continuing education. This morning I read a fascinating genetic study about prehistoric dog domestication. It showed that there are five […]
Roots Run Deep
Friday, January 6th, 2023In October of 1929 the New York Stock market crashed and took down the global economy. Conservative President Herbert Hoover chose to keep government help limited. For the next three years the economy remained in free fall. This horrible experience taught voters that something had to change. Millions of people realized that they had the […]
Ciudad Rodrigo 2019
Monday, January 2nd, 2023After leaving Porto we drove to Salamanca. Along the way we stopped in Ciudad Rodrigo for sandwiches and a walk around the ramparts. The Old Town sits atop a defensive hill top with a unobstructed view of the valley below. The guide books call the wall “Medieval.” I am sure the walls rest on a […]
Fatima 2019
Monday, January 2nd, 2023We left Lisbon on a rainy morning and drove north to Porto. On the way we stopped in Fatima. It was a large, modern complex. We attended mass in the bright arena like cathedral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima
Belum 2019
Sunday, January 1st, 2023Belem is a short tram ride outside of Lisbon. It is the gateway to the Atlantic. This day trip was an immersion into Portuguese naval history. Outside along the mouth of the river are huge monuments to the heroes of exploration. The Naval Museum itself tells the story of naval technology from the 15th century […]
Lisbon 2019
Sunday, January 1st, 2023As we left Sagres, Jackie decided she need to feed the local donkeys. Leaving was much less stressful than arriving. I was ready for the tiny roads. Our apartment was on a step incline. Thankfully, we had garage parking. The area to navigate in and out, however, was not the most spacious. We rarely spent […]