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Life goes on… and so does History!
History is like that. One day you can’t get enough of WWII culinary skills, Ancient Greek composting, or the Thirty Years War and the next day… nothing! Historical curiosity travels in phases. While a...
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I Beg of You… Don’t Hate History
Let the following numbers sink in and then I’ll explain why they’re horrifying… (Image: Morguefile.com) — A mere 20% of American fourth-graders (~10-11 years old) passed a National Assessment of...
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Wall Drug: An American Experience
I’m back in one of those tourist haunts that helps define the geography of my life. That sounds a lot more romantic than it is. I’m in Wall, South Dakota, at Wall Drug, a strip of western themed...
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The Boundaries of History: Mountains
(Image: Amanda Stiver) I’m watching a storm break over the Bitterroot Mountains. It’s a spectacular show of grays, blues, greens, and a touch of white off and on. Almost as spectacular as the sunset I...
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The Window of History
Image: morguefile.com/hamper Sitting in my office I have a great view of the woods. I can see birds, cats, deer, my neighbors, lush deciduous trees, the change of seasons and the occasional fox or...
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The Best Book of Biographies: Great Lives, Great Deeds
“We were knowledgeable enough to verify our information, reverent enough to respect the deeds of a hero without trying to deconstruct his every molecule, and still innocent enough to believe in heroic,...
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At A Glance: The Wonders of the World Almanac
“Why do I love my World Almanac so? Because I can flip pages, take in a quick dose of information and add that to my appreciation of the world around me.” Image: Amanda Stiver IT TOOK me five years to...
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Potholes and Pitfalls: The Bumpy Roads of History
“That’s how history works. The mundane things often times become the measure of a civilization.” AFTER A month of tooth-jarring journeys over the pothole infested roads of north eastern Ohio, I’ve...
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Tragedy in Charleston…Division is Destructive
YOU KNOW, what strikes me with this latest tragic shooting in Charleston, is that while the US media has been preoccupied with the high profile psychological problems of two individuals (Bruce Jenner...
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What Other Flags Fly in Support of Slavery?
IT’S A WEEK for heavy subjects, so let’s look at the recent flag removals from Southern state capitals… Though the removal of the flag of the Confederate States of America (a long-dead representative...
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Getting the Story…the Whole Story
Source: morguefile.com/eskodesign HISTORY. Or just, the news. When does the one become the other? A hundred years ago the news was on the page of a newspaper, heard through the local telegrapher’s...
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Tomorrow’s History: Weekly Roundup (Trump – Holocaust – Year Without Summer)
“Today’s news is tomorrow’s history,” is a quote attributed to Judy Croome, a South African writer. However, the jist has long been known to historians, is ignored by politicians and celebrities, and...
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Tomorrow’s History: Weekly Roundup (Austria Moves Right-wing – Unphotogenic:...
Austria’s Far-right Party Loses Election, But Wins As A Movement While Americans continue to be entranced by the ongoing boxing match between U.S. Presidential candidates, another election has just...
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A Look at D-Day through the Eyes of A Village: Aunay sur Odon
Many lives were lost during the Normandy invasion. Among the Allies and the Axis troops, but also the collateral damage that occurred in the small villages and towns over and upon which was the...
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Tomorrow’s History: Marriage to the Sea Ceremony – and – DNA Links Europe and...
So, this week we take a quick look at where history collides with the present, which, strictly speaking happens every day since the present becomes the past at sunset or midnight, depending on how you...
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‘Brexit’ Turmoil Pales in Comparison to ‘Game of Thrones’– Welcome to Reality...
I have some thoughts on the ‘Brexit’ situation, and those will follow soon, but I thought I would post some “news of the absurd” first. In a dash for the finish line of the race to avoid reality, comes...
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Tomorrow’s History: Brexit – Should We Be Surprised?
So the hammer has fallen, the vote was taken, and England (the United Kingdom as it presently stands: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) will depart from the EU. The uproar has been,...
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Exploring Gateways to History: The Used Bookshop
Stepping into a previously unexplored used bookstore for the first time is akin to stumbling on that long lost tomb of King Whoever with the certain knowledge that inside are more artifacts of...
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Tomorrow’s History: When The Details Hit You In The Nose
I stepped outside one day a couple of weeks ago and all of a sudden Summer had jumped into Autumn. Not faded, mind you, as many poets have told us that it does, but jumped, leaped, maybe even threw...
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