The Girls of Summer
As the summer of 2018 slowly fades into our collective rear-view mirror, I thought a post on America’s summer sports pastime of baseball would be appropriate. But rather than talk about the boys… Continue reading
7 Comments
Gangsters on the Gold Coast: Scarface Comes to Miami
The Gold Coast. The Magic City. South Beach. Lincoln Road. Few places among America’s urban centers possess as much mystique as the narrow strip of land lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the… Continue reading
Unforeseen Consequences
If our principles are right, why should we be cowards? Lucretia Mott Ah, but which principles. High minded reformers don’t always see eye to eye. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson may have both… Continue reading
The Wild-er Bunch
We’ve all heard about Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and Etta Place. Just the mere mention conjures up images of a smirking Paul Newman, drop-dead gorgeous Robert Redford and lovely Katherine Ross. Etta… Continue reading
History of American Crime: Gangsters on the Gold Coast, Part II
Speakeasies & Rum Runners America’s great experiment with a national ban on the consumption of alcohol, while well intentioned, was a well-documented abysmal failure. When the Volstead Act (passed to carry out… Continue reading
Making War on Cultural Heritage
… the enemy makes a wilderness and calls it war. Richard Harding Davis, NY Tribune, witness to the burning of Louvain, 1914 Cultural treasures disappear at a disheartening rate, often due to… Continue reading
The Long History of Soccer
This week, with everyone’s attention riveted on FIFA The World Cup, the final pitting Croatia against France on Sunday, as well as the Thailand Wild Boar soccer team and their dramatic rescue from… Continue reading
History of American Crime: Gangsters on the Gold Coast, Part I
Gangsters on the Gold Coast: Setting the Stage Visitors to Florida’s southern Atlantic coast understand why it is also known… Continue reading
Tea, Taxes, and War
Historians suggest a variety of causes for the Opium Wars. Some declare the cause to be “extraterritoriality,” the refusal of one sovereign nation, in this case, the United Kingdom, to allow their citizens… Continue reading
The National Trails System in America
While doing the research for my last entry here on the Appalachian Trail, I discovered there are two others, which form the “Triple Crown” of hiking. They are the Pacific Crest Trail, which… Continue reading