Monthly Archives: November 2015

Campus Revolt All Over Again (Yawn!)

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Roger Walck

“Notable & Quotable: John Siber” The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 11, 2015. The recent turmoil at the University of Missouri with the president forced to resign and the football team threatening to strike reminds many of us of the campus … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Historical Photo at Longwood Gardens

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Roger Walck

About a month ago, two elderly ladies (but still younger than me) came into the Peirce-du Pont House at Longwood Gardens and showed me a vintage photo stored on their phone of two teenage boys sitting on a stone wall … Continue reading →

Posted in Longwood Gardens | Tagged | Leave a comment

Maureen O’Hara

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Roger Walck

Maureen O’Hara died recently and was buried in Arlington Cemetery, as she was entitled to, next to her husband, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles Blair. She was 95. She was born Maureen Fitzsimmons and was fellow classmate Ed Fitzsimmons’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular culture | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Shaving, Barbasol, and the Art of Living Well

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Roger Walck

Shaving gets disproportionate space in this blog because a warm, wet shave in the quiet predawn hours is conducive to contemplation, plus it is often what I am doing just before writing a new post. (I use the same illustration … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercials, Popular culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Recording Your Voice For Posterity

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Roger Walck

When my parents first retired to Florida (that’s what retirees did in those days), long-distance phone connections were too expensive for idle chit-chat, so we kept in touch mostly by exchanging 3-inch reels of tape by mail. The tapes were … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, History, Popular culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Muslim Majority

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Roger Walck

“Notable & Quotable,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/17/2015. Quote from historian Niall Ferguson, 11/2015. It is doubtless true to say that the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Europe are not violent. But it is also true that the majority hold … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular culture | Leave a comment

Angie’s List

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Roger Walck

A while ago, my TV was flooded with ads for Angie’s List featuring a woman who was supposedly Angie herself. She looked too perfect to be real, and why, I wondered, would anyone rely on testimonials about local contractors that … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercials | Leave a comment

Curing Finger Cramps With a Bar Of Soap

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Roger Walck

I gently turn the page of a newspaper and my hand suddenly cramps up, my fingers painfully locking in strange distorted angles. This phenomena is not new and not just another part of aging. I have had it for many … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fresh Orange Juice

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Roger Walck

In my early days working as a fill-in doorman at the Rittenhouse Claridge in Philadelphia, I delivered a glass of fresh orange juice to an apartment, but the owner would not accept it. “Take it back. It’s not fresh,” he … Continue reading →

Posted in Philadelphia | Tagged | Leave a comment

How To Spend $8,000 On An Umbrella

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Roger Walck

One of the joys of my Wall Street Journal subscription is their monthly slick magazine with their high-fashion ads. It is more entertaining than the Sunday comics in our local newspaper and provides a lot of fodder for this blog.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Popular culture | Leave a comment