Growing up, I had the great good fortune to spend part of six summers at a girls’ camp in northern Minnesota. This was made possible by...

As a historian I recognize that every generation thinks that the next is going to hell in a hand-basket.   I personally was raised with...

Editor’s Note:  At a recent social function,  I found myself talking to a friend whom I see only once or twice a year.   But she is an...

The phrase “Lest We Forget” came to mind recently.   In America,   and I dare say,   much of the world,   this phrase has come to be...

My library has a really cool feature.   If you have read more than one Trail Talk,  you may be surprised to learn that I spend very...

It is embarrassing to open a sentence with,  “I was taught”.   I like to think of myself as a free-thinker even in my developmental...

Most of us can relate to Tom Hanks’ adolescent wish to be Big in the delightful movie comedy of that name  (1988).   One of my first...

Where do you find the books you read?   No, wait.   Before we get to that,  I want to know if you make a distinction between the books...

There is a sign on a shelf of my living room library bluntly stating that “Censorship is Obscene”.   I’m guessing this may require a bit...

I’ve been contemplating mortality lately – a natural thing, I suppose, as one progresses along the human timeline.   But I have been...

One of my earliest memories of my father was his boast that he had gone to graduate school with Martin Luther King, Jr.   In fact, Rev....

Across this great country of ours communities have embraced the concept of Public Art, or art for all.   In New Mexico they paint murals...

When I was in junior high, my history teacher planted a trick question in a pop quiz that made a lasting impression on me. He asked us to...

As pretty much of a round peg in a square hole, I’ve been very fortunate to draw attention in the travel trade press over the years....

Recently I watched a PBS documentary on Daniel Ellsberg and his seemingly suicidal attempt to make the government accountable during the...

It will come as no surprise to regular readers that I am a big fan of America’s National Parks. With all its flaws (mostly attributable...