By which, yes, I mean the time between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s a time for relaxing and enjoying the toys you got as gifts, a time for visiting with friends and family. We often went to Arkansas or to Georgia to see our big families during this period (especially because my Georgia sister’s birthday is New Year’s Eve, and they belonged to clubs that had fantastic parties), but we are increasingly reluctant to face the holiday traffic jam on the way to Georgia.  Read More 

I was moving around in computer files, trying to find a good idea for a Christmas column, and thinking how badly I need to re-sort files and put documents in their proper folder. Filing has been the bane of my life, both in paper and in e-versions. I love it when everything is nice and neat and easily located, but somehow things don’t stay in the right place for long. Anyone have an intern who can help?  Read More 

With “tax reform” looming over the nation, we are very fortunate to have our own Kathy Castor as the only Floridian on the conference committee that will determine the devils in the tax details. Everything I’ve read about the bill indicates that it is primarily a reverse Robin Hood, stealing from those at the bottom to further enrich those at the top, so we surely need the well-informed, conscientious person that Kathy is. Even conservative media such as the Wall Street Journal warn that this is not real tax reform, much less simplification, but instead is another Christmas tree loaded with presents for the businesses who hire the best-connected lobbyists. A number of reputable analysts assert that it is the beginning of the GOP’s longtime goal of eliminating Social Security and Medicare. Charities are worried about negative effects on them.  Read More 

We held the unveiling of this year’s Riverwalk honorees last Friday, with a standing-room-only crowd on the water side of the convention center -- and an extraordinarily hot first-day-of-December sun beating down on us. This was our fifth year, and with bronze busts of six historical figures each year, there now are thirty. They all are on the east side of the River, running from the History Center through Waterworks Park, and Mayor Bob indicated that we might consider doing thirty more on the west side, which currently is under re-development.  Read More