The adjective “liberal” was derived from the 12th century Old French liberal (befitting free people, noble, generous, willing, zealous) and directly from the Latin liberalis (noble, generous, willing, zealous — literally “of freedom, pertaining to or benefiting a free person”) and liber (free, …
Impossible Jobs
I am reading one of Tom Holland’s books: Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World (Basic Books, New York, 2019, pages 381–386). Holland is a British historian of the ancient world, fluent in both Latin and Greek. My first introduction to his writings was his 2015 translation from the …
A Celebration of Life
Two weeks ago, my wife and I were driving south through Washington, Oregon, and California to attend a memorial service for my Aunt Marian who died at the age of 97. She was a much-loved matriarch of the Snodgrass family, the older sister of my father and his brother, Ross. They grew up in …
Artificial
When I was in the third and fourth grade, my elementary school teacher would write multiplication and division problems on the classroom chalkboard. Students would be called to go to the chalkboard and solve the problems in front of the class while the teacher observed. I was terrified when my name …
Fertility
Once you start a slogan and it catches on, it morphs and balloons. Make America Great Again (MAGA) is an example: Mean-Angry-Grumpy-Always, Mentalizing About Government Abuse, Minimizing Achievements by Governmental Agencies, etc. One that caught my eye recently was Make America Pregnant Again (Jo …
The Good Life
I am always on the lookout for good books, especially ones recommended by friends or new subjects that I have not explored. I was glancing through the Wall Street Journal book reviews when I noticed The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness (Robert Waldinger and …
Youth
My wife and I recently drove to Eugene (Oregon) for the USA Track and Field Championships (USATF). Over four days, the best American athletes competed for a place on the US team that will go to the World Athletics Championship, held in Tokyo 13–21 September. The competition was in The University of …
Human Relations
I had a good relationship with my company’s Human Resources (HR) Department and embraced both their independent perspective and professional skills. During my last assignment, I oversaw the divestment of two international marketing teams, and all the employees were employed by the buyer. In one of …
Sacred
Words matter. About a year ago, President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for a second presidential term. He had the Democratic Party nomination clinched due to a lack of credible candidates willing to run again him, but his poor debate performance against Donald Trump caused the party …
Photos
Summer is the time for projects. My wife and I spend summers on Vancouver Island, and I have more time to do projects when the days are longer. For example, I lug an assortment of books to plow through and try to balance nonfiction books, mainly theological, with best sellers. This summer, my large …