Take a male donkey and a female horse and mate them, and you get a mule: strong, stubborn, with tough hooves and able to thrive on little and poor food. Great animals, but sterile. You can’t just breed mules. You have to persuade a donkey to mate with a mare, which apparently many are hesitant … More China: The Fertile Hybrid

Every city that I’ve visited in China has its own spirit and character, but Nanjing is unique for its “cultured and relaxed” (according to the Lonely Planet’s guide to China) atmosphere. Of course, one’s impressions of a place are largely and in some cases solely guided by the bits of the elephant that one gets to … More Nanjing and Kindness

I have been in Nanjing almost a week now, teaching English composition in the mornings and, until today, sleeping in the afternoons because my body could not wrap its little brain around the idea of being 12 hours off its normal schedule. I would get back from class by hook or by crook (Southeast University’s … More On Ignorance

I was trying to capture the spider veins of these mountains, exposed by snow, and only saw the envelope of the atmosphere later.

I just want everyone to know that Barack Obama is moonlighting as the Voice of O’Hare Airport.  Exact same voice, timbre, speech rhythms and coolness. Who knew? 

My last post did finish abruptly.  I have been occupied for the past few days and unable to write. I’ll try now. On that Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2016, I was there with a group of moms and dads from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.  It was bitterly cold as I … More Outside the Comfort Zone 2

My cousin raised an interesting question yesterday, as he so often does. After I described my encounter with an out-of-control teen neighbor who threatened violence and spat on me (in the context of his having cursed and abused another neighbor, perfectly nice guy), he asked, “Where is it written that you should intervene?” I’ve been … More Living in the village

I live in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville is one of Southern Appalachia’s three  “capitals,” the others being Asheville, NC and Roanoke, VA. The three are very different cities for historical reasons. Knoxville is actually not in the Appalachian Mountains. Instead, it is in the valley carved by the junction of the Holston and French Broad rivers … More Outside the Comfort Zone