Today the Tulsa World published an Opinion piece by me that I called “Hamilton Summer.” A Summer of deep-diving into the history and scholarship of the musical “Hamilton” made me think about how hard (and fragile) American democracy is. You…
There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…
August 23, 2020 Make no mistake; the COVID-19 pandemic is expensive. In a macroeconomic sense: world economies sputter along in low speed, needing fewer of this and that means fewer people employed, making fewer dollars, and national and world GDP…
“Isten Hozta Amerikaba”*
In 2018 I attended a United Way Finance, Talent, & Technology conference in Houston, TX. Being the sort of personal branding/marketing savvy person that I am, I posted extensively about the event on our new corporate Facebook site before I…
A new appreciation
March 27, 2020 A week ago today I went into the hospital for what turned out to be appendicitis. While I was waiting for my CT scan that morning, my appendix burst. I got out Tuesday this week with a…
Built to Last
I can’t begin to tell you when I became a Craftsman. I can tell you that it’s been a long road. I think it started when we bought our first house, built in 1922. In no time, you find yourself…
The Gypsy and the Farmer
Part of the fun of keeping a blog is putting little bits of oneself out there, and today I’m sharing one of my Dad’s favorite Gypsy jokes — without this, it may be lost to the mists of time. I…
Happy (Step-Grand) Father’s Day
For Father’s Day weekend this year, I bring you a pic of my step-grandfather, Joe Duran. This is his certificate of naturalization in 1944 and recently found in a safe deposit box, along with his original birth certificate. He was…
All good things…
June 10, 2019 Last week I severed my final tie to the Tulsa Area United Way, my wonderful employer for 8+ years. I maintain the highest respect for their mission and the great folks who work there, doing so much…
“I regret nothing!”
I’ve written before about my “Marcel Proust madeleine moments,” and I had another one yesterday…coming back from getting new air filters and I’m bored with all my usual Sirius/XM channels. So I wander over to the Opera/Classical station, and they’re…
(Campaign) Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall…
September 5, 2018 The quote above, sans “Campaign,” is from F. Scott Fitzgerald. It always excites me when things get going again in late August. While the weather in Oklahoma is nowhere near crisp, you can begin to detect the…