Craig's Corner

The official thermometer in Los Angeles broke at 113 the other day. The extreme heat could easily be a metaphor for political discourse or how that discourse gets us hot under the collar. I think the extremism that is more worrisome is more deep seeded and our political environment only reflects what exists throughout the rest of society. Every day we’re bombarded with messages encouraging us to buy this product or that product to fix this thing or that thing. Advertising is fantastic – there is creativity, inspiration and innovation reflected in a range of new products. It’s not the new products or their messages that is cause for concern. It seems that each new product is the best ever. This one is the best drain cleaner ever. The drain cleaner we tried to sell you last month? Fuggetaboutit…this one’s better. Never mind that next month there’ll probably be an ever better one. The claims of best ever and most fantastic and other hyperbolic descriptors have resulted in the opposite e

This is the most wonderful time of the year. I am reconnecting with old friends and past loves which meeting new people, having new crushes and suffering disappointment. It’s the new TV season. My addiction to the medium traces back to childhood when my siblings and I would negotiate over which shows we’d watch. Oh those Happy Days! These days I have two DVR’s programmed to the hilt, with my goal not to miss my favorite returning shows or the new ones. Each of the DVR’s have their own criteria…one is for action and crime oriented shows while the other is more relationship shows, news/info and, of course, HGTV. “My stories” transport me around the globe, allow me to get to know interesting people and relate to their experiences. I get to have adventures, learn new procedures and am vicariously romantic. I laugh. I cry. I get thrills and chills. Television is no vast wasteland, it’s a rich cornucopia of human experiences. I don’t watch much “reality,” preferring the imagined relationsh

I have crossed the threshold of having spent more years outside of a classroom than inside one. This occurs to me as September brings legions of students – from toddlers to post-collegiate – back into the learning environment, eager to start fresh. As the child of two passionate and gifted teachers you’d think that I would be a de-facto supporter of schools. Not so much. Sometime in the early 1980’s I opined at the dinner table how Ronald Reagan was right – I couldn’t find anywhere in the Constitution that justified an “Education Department” of the U.S. Government. My parents, in a gesture of extreme patience, goodwill and genteel temperament, let my ‘Alex P. Keaton’ moment pass. “Not everybody has had the education that you have had and can so easily discount it.” Discounted education is exactly what we have right now, but not in the way my parents meant. I am indebted for the extraordinary gift that I had been given as the child of educators – getting both a formal and informal edu

Dad as a Boy I look like Dad – the physical resemblance is clear and remarkable. Of course I’ve know this for some time – there are many photos of us where the features are unmistakable and the dozens of comments at Dad’s funeral last week reinforced the fact. A few years back when Dad was at home after the first stroke and we had overnight nurses coming in – I would stay up to greet them. (I suppose verifying the time-slip might have also played a role.) I would get up from the comfy TV chair and greet them. “Oh Lordy. I thought he was-raised-up-and-a-walkin’ again. Lord Have Mercy!” exclaimed one of the South African nurses when I startled her with my very presence. Dad - Alaska circa 2003 Laughter is one of the hallmarks of who Dad was and one of his legacies. Shortly after Dad's first stroke I was at the hospital. Doctor’s came and went, specialists. One of the doctor’s – a brain surgeon I think – was distinguishable mostly due to his appearance. He stood 5 foot 4 (bei