Commentary on life, travel, and the world
This month, temperatures plunged to record-breaking low levels in Virginia. During our 18-degree weather in the region’s “polar vortex” I joined a colleague of mine in a lettuce bikini to hand out free veggie burgers downtown in Norfolk. The Virginian-Pilot was nice enough to send out a shivering reporter to cover our adventure, although he did Read More
(An article for my college newspaper, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jacket, written in 2007) As a species, humans have been expanding and industrializing for decades, but not until the mid-1900s did we stop to look back at the consequences of our actions. With the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring concerning the harmful effects of pesticides, the environmental movement Read More
(Featured in HoneyColony‘s Buzzworthy Blogs here.) I’ve always been enthralled by water. Standing beneath a curtain of water cascading down a mountainside on a chilly morning is among the most invigorating experiences I’ve ever had. There is something magical about the way the water perpetually flows off a cliff, so fresh and crisp, before it Read More
(An article written for my college newspaper, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jacket, in 2009) Most people believe that animals can feel pleasure and pain. We shower our dogs and cats with love, affection, and even birthday gifts, eager for a tail wag or sloppy kisses in return. Conversely, we’re overcome with guilt when our busy feet happen Read More
(Posted in the Sierra Club’s newsletter, the Old Dominion Sierran, in fall 2013.) Earlier this month, reports revealed that Virginia Uranium, Inc., the company responsible for unrelenting efforts to lift our state’s 30-year ban on uranium mining, spent $572,607 lobbying Virginia officials last year – the most of any group in Virginia, and as much as Read More
(Published in my college newspaper, the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jacket, in 2008) Imagine wandering into the depths of a neotropical rainforest and taking in the sight of hundreds of plants in vibrant greens towering high above your head. Imagine inhaling a strong musk and seeing its owner, the pig-like peccary, trot past into another patch of Read More
I should have known all along that I was destined to be a star math student. After all, my father and I had re-invented hide-and-seek, with a mathematical flare, when I was in the second grade; I’d hide, and when he found me, I was tasked with solving a square root problem. Yet as I Read More
(Written for a college English course in 2005.) We take our children to Sunday school and guide them on a path of respect and the “Golden Rule,” instilling in them a sense of morality, of right and wrong. Our lives operate around ethics; these are the maxims which lead any decent human being to make Read More