February 23, 2022 Whose words are allowed and whose words are not allowed matter. Back in 1968, Black History Month was not a thing in schools and at that time I had never heard of “Black history.” That year, when I was 17, the assigned reading in my high school

One of my ongoing and constantly challenging self-improvement projects is to be aware of the impact of my words as well as the intent.Whenever we humans speak we enter a minefield, not just because of what we say, but, perhaps more importantly, how are words are interpreted. Words on their

My granddaughter recently remarked that she thought my voice had changed over the 14 years of her lifetime, that I now sounded “elderly.” I reacted with offense. Elderly? Why, my voice hasn’t changed at all, I protested. Yes, my voice is throaty and froggy, and leans to squeaky, like it’s

When I was maybe seven or eight, around the time that my parents bought my family’s first TV, I often watched a morning children’s show called Captain Kangaroo. The Captain, a rotund grandfatherly guy with a bowl haircut, a cheesy mustache, and a coat with big pockets (like a kangaroo’s)

What’s in a book’s name? Would William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” by any other name seem as sad and ironic? Probably not. Book titles give a clue or even give away the main event, and many times just flat out name the character who drives the story. The Great

It’s the most infuriatingly common misuse and overuse of a word I hear from my millennial (description, not judgment) kids, and on news broadcasts and talk shows, and in conversations I overhear on the sidewalk, in the park, at a restaurant, in the elevator, and in a dozen other public