The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *Normandy Landings Omaha Beach – Pointe du Hoc – Sainte-Mère-Église – Normandy American Cemetery A dog romps around this mostly quiet beach. There’s nothing quite like the unbounded joy of a dog on a beach, kicking up golden sand, and stopping occasionally to inspect the …

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An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *Normandy Landings Gold Beach, October 2, 2025It’s chilly, windy, and threatening rain when we arrive in Normandy.We’re renting a house in Ver Sur Mer, a small community near Gold Beach. Gold Beach isn’t a name that the local tourist bureau thought up as a gilded …

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An American’s observations of a first time trip to France. *The road less traveled. When I told friends that Cora and I were going to venture outside of Paris during our trip to France I was advised to take the train. “The trains in Europe are great,” they (the ubiquitous ‘they’) all said. It’s an …

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On Constitution Day 2025, the Trump Regime tore off yet another piece of the Constitution of the United States of America and tossed it into the dumpster. There, in that dank bin, that poor metaphorical slip became part of a growing pile of bits, pieces, scraps and chunks of a document that was ratified 238 …

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The Fourth of July. Its formal name is Independence Day, and with apologies to all the Christians out there, it should be the most revered of American holidays; more revered than Christmas and Easter. Take it from an agnostic. Traditions keep us grounded and I followed one every Independence Day. Before dawn, I would, with …

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It was surreal. But there it was. Two apostles of Trump, blood brothers, a pair of the most annoying people in the history of the planet, Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson, in a shouting match. These two are almost always in concert when it comes to – anything. I didn’t know whether to laugh, sing …

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“We are not pawns for [President] Donald Trump,” said the young woman dressed in cammies. Her uniform bore two patches, one, U.S. Army, the other, a last name, Colado. She was appearing at an anti-ICE rally in Dallas. The woman continued, “Why now? It’s because the military was called on against the protesters. In our …

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“Tin soldiers and Nixon comingWe’re finally on our ownThis summer I hear the drummingFour dead in Ohio” “Four dead in Ohio” were the first words that came to mind when I heard that Donald Trump, on the evening of June 7th, had federalized 2,000 California National Guard soldiers in response to protests against ICE raids …

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“Mayday” is an internationally recognized distress call used by pilots and maritime crews over radio communications in cases of extreme emergency where life or the aircraft or vessel is in immediate danger. When repeated three times in succession it is a call for urgent assistance. May Day (also known as International Workers Day), the annual …

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April 27, 2025I was at a protest yesterday and one of the speakers asked the assembled crowd, “How many of you are afraid to look at the news in the morning?” The show of hundreds of hands was almost unanimous, and I imagine that those who didn’t raise their hands had them full. Almost as …

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