A book from my childhood about Medal of Honor winners has a chapter about him: “Too Young to Fight.” The Texas boy lied about his age at 17, his face and physique betraying him to the Marines and Paratroopers who turned him away. Enlisting in the Army at the stroke of 18,…
What to do with a “failing” school: Summon a demolition party with torches? Convene priests and exorcize it of pedagogical demons? Convert it to a prison, the destination to which we assume students are bound due to the building’s failure? Yes, the building’s failure. All of the above fit neatly into…
Scanning the ranks of the noble Tea Party protesters — exiles of conscience, taxed into penury without representation — it’s hard to ignore one impression: For oppressed people, they haven’t missed many meals. Also: Apparently they had their attentions turned to the buffet table throughout the Bush administration. …
When my hands held it again for the first time in decades, I felt the electricity that made it such an exciting gift for an 8-year-old. A radio I could hold in my hand — pop music, sports, news — all at my command in a genuine leather holder. By appearance, that radio — a…
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — “It’s no wasteland.” No, not this mountainous berg where seemingly everyone over 65 wants to live. Sergio Avila is talking about the U.S.-Mexico border, which bobcats, ocelots, jaguars, mountain lions, black bears and so much more inhabit. Avila, a biologist with the Sky Island Alliance, is a…