by admin | Jul 11, 2013 | News
The trespasser was huge: a big, hairy, athletic brute who appeared on our neighbor’s hill and then, brazenly, in broad daylight, as if he owned the place, climbed through a hole in the fence and ambled into our yard. He cased the joint with expert eyes, and, finding...
by admin | Jul 4, 2013 | News
What is strength of mind? Here’s a little experiment. Take a roll of ordinary duct tape out to your driveway and lay down twenty feet of it in a straight line. Now, remove your shoes and walk that line, making sure to keep at least one foot on the tape at all times....
by admin | Jun 27, 2013 | News
It was a grand service of thanksgiving at Washington National Cathedral, the kind I’d sung countless times as a young chorister, with the trompette en chamade blaring a bright echoing fanfare; a procession of dignitaries in full celebratory regalia; and an emotionally...
by admin | Jun 20, 2013 | News
About twenty-five years ago, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I sat down to have a beer with a friend who also happened to be a client. His name was Jesse Norman. He was a tall, strapping Englishman, fresh from Wall Street, where he’d been working at an investment bank...
by admin | Jun 13, 2013 | News
Last Thursday, as President Obama was prepping for his first summit in the California desert with China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, the Olshans were having our final dinner with Wenrui (“When-Ray”), our Chinese homestay student. Wenrui came to stay with us in January...
by admin | Jun 6, 2013 | News
Last week, I wrote about homophones, those pesky sound-alike words like “booty” and “bootie” that can lead to laughter — or a stern talking-to on a school field trip. I’m not immune to the odd mishearing. The older I get, and the thicker my ears become, the more...
