Flipping through the channels one evening, I lucked into the Australian Open tennis tournament just as the announcer said, “The effortlessness of Federer’s game belies his mastery of his craft.”  The replay showed Federer gliding along the baseline, flicking a lob over a flailing opponent, with gasps and applause from the adoring audience. I surfed…

This summer our daughter headed off on a very rigorous hiking and camping experience in Alaska.  The website didn’t try to sugarcoat the experience, warning that participants would carry 50 to 60 lb packs over mountain ridges, that it could continually rain or even snow, and that due to the threat of grizzly bears, absolutely…

Chapter 1 I first started my career in technology assessment at the American Medical Association and was occasionally called on to speak at various conferences.  While I was confident of my very narrow topic, as a representative of the AMA the audience apparently felt free to ask me about anything, from AMA lobbying efforts, to…

Ever since I can remember I have always wanted to wear glasses.  I grew up before contact lenses or LASIK surgery became available, and to me anybody who wore glasses was immediately unique.  How many times did I sit at the school lunchroom table and alternatively try on everyone else’s glasses with insightful comments on…

By the time that I got to the attic, I was far past dwelling on every single memento  removed from my parents’ emptying house.  A steady parade of dumpsters had hauled away umpteen boxes, and I had bequeathed the local library and rummage with untold books, cookware, and just plain gradoux (a most apt word…

When I was a teenager in the 1960s, an invitation to the Riverview Ramble was most coveted.  This was some sort of charity fundraiser, and a ticket allowed you unlimited access to all of the attractions at the Riverview Amusement Park, located along the Chicago River.  A group of hardy parents would load the kids…