Miracles come in many forms. Sitting in a rice paddy in Vietnam in 1968, infantryman Dennis Haines heard the cries of a baby or small child, “Just as I looked towards this hooch,” Haines recalls, “I saw what appeared to be a door swing open and a flash.  The next thing I remember was my buddy John cradling me, telling...

There’s a telling moment of decision-making in Thirteen Days– the film chronicling the events by President Kennedy and his administration during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a private exchange with his friend and advisor, Kenny O’Donnell, Kennedy reflects on the unthinkable – a nuclear holocaust with Russia – and declares, “We’re going to do whatever we have to do to make things...

The House of Mirth is a dark and depressing Edith Wharton novel about a self-absorbed young woman obsessed with fitting into the upper-crust of wealth and society in turn of the century New York. Lily Bart is a striking woman “to the manner born.” Although she’s been ready for her close-up since she was 18, her perennial talent seems to be putting...

Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn. – Benjamin Franklin When he was a mere 26 years of age, Benjamin Franklin conceived of writing a book about living rightly.  Always a student of new ideas, Franklin was constantly examining codes of behavior and how each of us might better understand our place and purpose in...

Are my guiding principles healthy and robust? On this hangs everything.   – Marcus Aurelius In writing these commentaries, it’s interesting to see how one topic will lead to another. Last Friday’s discussion revolved around the ethical question of whether the end justifies the means, a theme from the filmThe Emperor’s Club. In browsing my bookshelf, The Emperor’s Handbook, a 2002 translation...

A Rap star takes the stage from one award winner shouting that another should have won. A TV pundit calls the President a racist. During a Presidential address to Congress, a representative shouts, “You lie!” Lumbering through a moral wilderness of incivility and unreason we are losing the best of ourselves to fear and uncertainty. With a struggling economy, rising...

Most people may not recognize Carl Muscarello by name but are probably familiar with his picture. He’s the sailor kissing the nurse in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic, 1945 photograph on V-J Day in Times Square. However, Carl describes himself as, “an Italian-American kid from Brooklyn, New York who has been fortunate in that happiness in my life has come from my...

Dominic DiMaggio, an all-star center-fielder for the Boston Red Sox during the Ted Williams era, died last Friday at his home in Massachusetts. Working on my book, What Do You Stand For? I had a chance to talk with Dominic on three occasions.  Although his response did not make it in the final version of the book, I’m including it here because...

You’re facing a crisis. “Know what you can control and what you can’t.” People challenge and criticize you. “Refrain from defending your reputation and intentions.” Some people use harsh language and bombast. “Conduct yourself with dignity.” If you’re looking for the calm while working your way through a great storm, the ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus just might be the...

Did you know that Barneys is having a Warehouse Sale with savings between 50-75% off? ABC Carpet & Home is offering similar savings for its Presidents’ Day Extravaganza! What would Mr. Lincoln say? “Money is only valuable while in circulation…” What about the bankers on Capitol Hill, yesterday, answering questions from a Congressional committee looking into what they’ve done with the first round of bailout...