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Hawaii calls: My first bout of nostalgia
Given my frequent bouts of nostalgia, I thought I’d delve way back into my boyhood to trace how this has been a natural state of affairs for me. Indeed, while we often associate nostalgia with...
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Welcomed year-end perspectives from across the pond
Visits to England over the years have given me a great appreciation for two venerable news periodicals published there, The Economist and The Guardian. A venerable staple in England, The Economist,...
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First-time sojourn across the pond
Thirty-five years ago, I joined a group of fellow Valparaiso University students at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, where we would board a TWA flight to London. We were to be the 27th group of VU students...
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Time travel: Boston by streetcar, early 1900s
Screenshot of New England Historical Society webpage If you have eight minutes to spare for a fun little historical video, go to this New England Historical Society page to view a streetcar ride in the...
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Celebrating 219 Day in Boston: The Region Rat in me
Last week on Facebook, I saw friends from my native Northwest Indiana posting stuff about “219 Day.” Of course I recognized 219 as the main area code for Lake County, Indiana, but I had no idea what...
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The world-expanding virtues of study abroad
As President of Goucher College in Maryland, Sanford Ungar spearheaded internationalization initiatives that included requiring every undergraduate to enroll in a study abroad program. The school...
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A view from the Garden
This 1940s wartime era photo prompts a nostalgic moment for me, even if I wasn’t around back then and my soggy sentiments have nothing to do with the picture itself. This is the old Madison Square...
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Learning about the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter weekend in Dublin, 1981 (photo: DY) The 1916 Easter Rising was an armed insurrection centered in Dublin, and led by Irish Republicans who opposed British rule and sought to establish an...
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Good food and sights in Boise
Tasted even better than it looks (photo: DY) One of the benefits of being in academe is the opportunity to travel to interesting and new places for various academic events. I had the pleasure of making...
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Memo to self: Experiences, not possessions, bring greater happiness
Northern Colorado, storm chase tour (Photo: DY, 2012) Over the weekend I was fiddling around with some photos using the editing tools on my computer, when I reminded myself of an important lesson,...
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Life’s little scratch ticket wins
The other day I was getting ready for a short trip, and I went online to print out my airline ticket. I was delighted to see the TSA Pre-check designation on it. Pre-check means that you can go...
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Driving around in a self-induced nostalgia trip
Reasonable facsimile of my rental car (courtesy of http://clipartix.com/) My current visit to northwest Indiana marks the first time I’ve driven a car since, well, my last visit there over a year ago....
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From gadget to appendage
Sometime during the last year, my cell phone morphed from being a oft-annoying gadget to an occasionally annoying virtual appendage. I am not a likely candidate to have made this transition. I have...
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Homecoming 2016
A September sun sets on VU’s Chapel of the Resurrection (photo: DY) Sometimes we can go home again, and if we’re lucky, the experience can be even sweeter than the first time around. In a year of ups...
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A quick trip to Brooklyn: A meet-up of past and present
Home to the First Unitarian Congregational Society, Brooklyn. During a quick visit to Brooklyn for a workshop related to my work, I didn’t expect that a nostalgia trip would be part of the deal. But it...
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My late 20th century middlebrow center of gravity
Deliciously burning tops of mouths since 1974 (photo: Stouffers.com) Sometimes I like to scroll through this blog for the fun of it, as if I’m walking down Memory Lane to revisit writings about Memory...
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Boston at night
It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Life has been very busy, and this personal blog has been rather neglected as a result. I will be writing more in the weeks to come, but for now I wanted to do...
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My dream vacation is pretty geeky and dull
Let’s start with books My current dream vacation doesn’t involve traveling to popular or exotic tourist sites. In fact, it may sound downright geeky and dull to a lot of folks: A few weeks with a box...
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An eight-minute flight to Hawaii
This really cool eight-minute 1950 United Airlines travelogue of a Boeing Stratocruiser flight from California to Hawaii pushes nostalgia buttons for an age that preceded my earthly arrival. It...
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A tour of historic Massachusetts General Hospital
The tour concluded in the Ether Dome Like many folks, I generally don’t like being at hospitals. It has nothing to do with the dedicated health care professionals who work in them, but rather because I...
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