by admin | Nov 5, 2024 | Activism, Books, Crime, Government, History, Immigration, Personal history, Political philosophy, Public policy, Public safety, Russia
Some time in 1997, I undertook a reading experiment I have never regretted, which was to begin to read, sequentially, biographies of U.S. presidents. I am not sure exactly when I picked up Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment by Garry Wills, but it...
by admin | Jan 1, 2024 | Activism, Aging, Blogging, Healthcare, Medical, Personal health, Personal history, Resilience
I have never been terribly enthusiastic about New Year’s Eve resolutions. This is not because I lack resolve, but because the start of a new year has usually struck me as a rather arbitrary time to gain such resolve or to turn over a new leaf. If one is committed to...
by admin | Sep 4, 2023 | Activism, Aging, Blogging, Careers, Death, Personal health, Personal history, Recreation, Retirement, Volunteerism, Writing
“Retire from what?” The Chicago Tribune says Jimmy Buffett asked that question once when they asked him about retirement. He died September 1, just as the Labor Day weekend began, from an aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell cancer. In his lifetime, he succeeded...
by admin | Jun 21, 2023 | Activism, Blogging, Books, Careers, Climate, Coastal Management, Disaster, Disaster policy, Floodplain management, Florida, Hazard Mitigation, Journalism, Movies, Natural Hazards, Personal history, Philanthropy, Public policy, Public safety, Resilience, Travel, Urban Planning, Weather, Wildfire, Writing
One reason I have long loved being an urban planner is that, ultimately, planning is about imagining a better future. Or should be, anyway. Although I was in my early thirties before I returned to school for a pair of graduate degrees in Urban and Regional Planning...
by admin | May 25, 2023 | Activism, Aging, Blogging, Disaster, Floodplain management, Journalism, Medical, Natural Hazards, Personal health, Personal history, Public health, Resilience, Urban forest, Urban Planning
I was lying half awake in bed at 4 a.m., unable to return completely to sleep after using the bathroom. My mind kept rolling over various competing obligations and necessities, and the thought hit me: “You must catch up while slowing down.” Frankly, that made about as...
by admin | Jan 2, 2023 | Activism, Christianity, Death, Environment, Nature, Parks, Personal history, Resilience, Urban forest, Urban Planning
I am a tree lover, but not a tree hugger. I think there is a difference, although I do not wish to demean tree huggers in any way. I am simply coming from a different place, viewing matters through a different lens. I can understand the emotional response that trees...
