Growing Up We all went to public school. Kind of ironic, given that Flo and I, later in life, taught in Catholic schools. My first (before we bought the house) was PS 151 Queens. Let me decode this. “PS” stood for Public School. There were lots of elementary schools in the five boroughs-so many that …
Author Archives: rfcan
Way Back in the Day
Housing It was 1945. My parents were renting an apartment in a two- family. We later called arrangements like these “mother and daughter”. Anyhow, the Putnams, from whom my parents rented, were expecting their two sons, George and Jack back from the war, which was, thankfully, ending. One of the sons was getting married, …
The First Hundred Days
This became a milestone during FDR’s time in office. Rating presidents is sort of a hobby with historians. I am nothing of the kind, but for what it’s worth, I rank George Washington the best of the 18th Century, Abraham Lincoln of the 19th, and Franklin Roosevelt of the 20th. It is Roosevelt who popularized …
Cruelty
Elon Musk, often described as the world’s richest man, has been leading a campaign to all but destroy the federal government, as we know it. He has been given free reign to accomplish this by POTUS 47. I’ve often wondered whether this represents a quid pro quo for his rescue of Trump’s personal finances. While …
Then and Now
My only grandchild, Davis McNulty, is about to turn 17 next month. No rational person would deny that the world/nation/state has changed significantly in the 70 or so years of difference in our ages. Davis is entering his senior year in one of our nation’s premier private schools. He is doing course work in high …
Chaos
Donald Trump loves chaos. Several weeks into (hopefully) his final term, he has solved numerous personal issues: no prison term for inciting an insurrection; having what should have been crushing debt apparently taken care of. It’s pretty plain to me that Elon Musk has quietly done this for a price: having numerous outfits of his …
Head of State
Saying from the 1950’s: Roosevelt proved that only he could be President. Truman proved that anybody could be President. Eisenhower proved that we didn’t need a President. The USA, arguably the world’s oldest democracy, has yet to elect a female President. We got close twice this century: Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016 and Kamilla …
It Is My New Years Resolution
Title borrowed from lyrics by Spike Jones, circa 1945, or so. (Who was Spike Jones, you ask? Well, you had to be there….). How’s this for resolutions: These were suggested at our Bible Fellowship meeting here at the Home. Notice the complete lack of self-improvement vows. Seems just fine with me. This is an entirely …
Ship of Fools
Title of a novel by Katherine Anne Porter, made into a film in 1965, which garnered numerous Oscars for its distinguished cast. The plot involves a voyage from Mexico to Bremerhaven, Germany during the run-up to WWII. Somehow, the title calls to mind (to me, at least) the current process, such as it is, …
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy
No, I don’t recall my kids ever asking me this, but it was a sort of anti-war saying back in the day (for me, the 1960’s). This was a bitter time in our history when servicemen were advised to wear civvies, when traveling, whenever possible. I was quite gung-ho back then. I now feel that …
Rogernarc 