Catchphrases separate the generations. That they do so seems arbitrary and unfortunate. Everything that causes friction between generations is unfortunate. As a boy in London, I’d ask my father, “What’s up?” and he’d reply acidly, “The sky.” If he
Literature
Texas
There were two uplifting stories out of Texas last week. Both began badly. After the mosque in Victoria, Texas, burned down, Jews from the town’s temple went around to one of the mosque’s founders and handed him the keys to the synagogue. (The fire’s
The Strawberry Statement
On January 21, Donald Trump is going to look down from his high tower, in whichever dimension it may be, on the women marching in protest against his assault on civility and think to himself, “Melania and Ivanka look a whole lot better than these
A Flawed Teacher’s Elegant Legacy
Can a teacher who is deficient at her subject be a lasting positive influence? We’ve all encountered experts who do harm. I had two science teachers who were knowledgeable in their field but who taught so badly, one even sadistically, that I still
Tricks of Memory
1 The tricks memory plays on us are not always cruel. For decades, I thought I remembered a lush Italian garden from a book of Aldous Huxley stories that a high school girlfriend liked to read aloud to me. It wasn’t an image, let alone an idea. It
The Cathedral Town
What is it about those small cathedral towns, which in England are by definition cities, no matter how tiny? Recalling those idealized places of perpetually mild weather and well-mannered people brings peace of mind. The small English town, typically