Eugen Richter, a German liberal politician and journalist at the turn of the previous century, published “Pictures of the Socialistic Future” in 1893. As a work in the public domain, the ebook version can be downloaded for free. The novel describes a family anticipating the wonderful things ...

With Americans hunkering down at home in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, it can sometimes feel like the end of days. However, for an unseen number of our countrymen, today’s struggle is hardly different from a miserable day-to-day existence. If you work in the school system or as a ...

It’s safe to say we’ve been living in a totally different world these past weeks, and been forced to change many “normal” things we used to do, many of those things we took for granted. We’re now doing things, following new restrictions, and making sacrifices, to help stop the spread ...

Someone recently shared a picture of canned goods in her basement. I do not think it was a picture that they took, just one they found. Foods preserved in jars really make a pretty picture. I often went downstairs and just looked at all of the food I had preserved. We never had much money. ...

I checked. In March, spring arrived on time. The sun crossed the equator around March 20, heralding the arrival of the new season. That was more than a month ago, but it’s like this every year: life becomes a giant ketchup commercial, as we sit in anticipation of spring actually ...

Atrabilious, immiscible, susurrus, tergiversate, trompe l’oeil — I have a spiral notebook that probably dates back a decade or more of words I hadn’t known so looked up meanings and added them to the list. Terricolous, educe, missish, tergiversate, the list goes on and on. And I’ve ...