We are nearing the end of 2015, which means the end of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Combat ended in the spring of 1865, with dates that vary from April to June, but the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery was not ratified until December, and so the 150th should go on to include that. Military histories almost always end with the last battles, ignoring the fact that social and political history does not end when armies call it quits. Read More
Doris writes a weekly column for LaGaceta, the nation's only trilingual newspaper, which has pages in English, Spanish, and Italian. Begun in 1922 for Tampa's immigrant community, it continues to thrive more than a century later. Her column is titled "In Context," as it aims to put contemporary issues in the context of the past.
Downtown: Trains and Libraries
October 12, 2015
I spoke recently at Ocala’s main library and was so pleased with it! It seems that a new supermarket had gotten zoning near Marion County’s Veterans Memorial Park and then almost immediately went bankrupt. The county commission bought the big empty building and moved their antiquated downtown library, which offered little parking, to this relaxing space about a mile away. The result is just joyous. Read More
Fixing the VA
October 5, 2015
Last week I said that Hubby had pneumonia and was in intensive care in Tampa’s VA hospital, adding that this week I would write about that experience. Let me say at the beginning that the actual health care professionals – doctors, nurses, pulmonary specialists, etc. were great, but the administrators who create the policies and procedures under which they work could use a few clues. Read More