Essays
1090 results
Page 69
Between fiction and self-deceit: A writer's fable
Come back, not-so-little Sheba, or: When writers finally grow up
When Literature becomes Life, watch out! What is life, after all, but a series of interlocking narratives?
Essays
4 minute read
My heart attack, Part 6: Coming out of surgery
We are the 33%
“Only one-third of all patients improve,” the surgeon told us after the operation. No one had dropped that statistic on us beforehand.
Child abuse and bureaucracy: Another Philadelphia story
Another helpless child victim: What city agencies can (but won't) do
Another helpless child has died due to neglect by Philadelphia's overwhelmed human service agencies. The real tragedy is that they needn't be overwhelmed— if they'll accept help from outside professionals.
Essays
3 minute read
Another Titanic night to remember
It was sad (so sad): The night the Titanic went down, again
If you still can't comprehend why the rich refused to associate with the poor aboard the Titanic, you might consider inviting my wife and me to your next party.
Essays
6 minute read
Heart attack, Part 5: Surgery approaches
Like a lamb chop meeting the chefs
"You're such an interesting case," my cardiologist said as I headed for surgery— precisely the words I had been advised to hope I never heard from a physician. I clutched at the belief that I would emerge healthier than ever, physically rejuvenated and a deeper, wiser person.
Trayvon Martin: Rush to judgment? (2nd comment)
Let's take a deep breath, shall we?
The Trayvon Martin case has drawn national attention, and properly so. Justice must be done, especially in a case with so many racial overtones. What we've had so far, though, looks more like a circus.
Essays
4 minute read
Death and life of a friend
What a hard dying, what an easy death
Let him die on a Sunday, she decides. And so she calls me, and I come.
Essays
2 minute read
Trayvon Martin: Reactions, black vs. white (1st comment)
Trayvon Martin and the double standard
Black men are instructed to behave compliantly around whites and avoid threatening behavior, like wearing a hoodie. But where does that leave my son, who is black and autistic and finds a hoodie comforting?
Essays
3 minute read
Lee Benson: The historian as activist
One historian who looked ahead
The late Penn historian Lee Benson contributed significantly to his field, but his shining moment may have occurred when he told his fellow historians to leave the sidelines and get involved.
Essays
3 minute read
Heart attack, Part 4: The prospect of surgery
‘Forget your cardiologist. You are my patient now'
After my second heart attack, my cardiologist was upbeat and I thought I was gradually recovering. But the surgeon had other ideas, and I was in no position to argue with him. Part 4 of Bob Levin's continuing saga of his travails as a heart patient.