THE CONVERSATION — Of all the forms of human intellect that one might expect artificial intelligence to emulate, few people would likely place creativity at the top of their list. Creativity is wonderfully mysterious — and frustratingly fleeting. It defines us as human beings — and seemingly defies the cold logic that lies behind the […]

Nearly 60 years after discovering “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” I still watch the classic sitcom, but some of the punchlines haven’t held up particularly well. Or maybe I’m the one who hasn’t held up so well. You may recall that gag writer Buddy Sorrell (played by Morey Amsterdam) always made longsuffering “Alan Brady Show” […]

I’ve told this story before, but now that I’m officially ancient, that’s what ancients do, so here goes. I also think it bears repeating because it is a great example of what true friendship really is. Or perhaps isn’t. Some years ago, two or our dearest friends wanted to come to Maine for a visit. […]

Being from Arkansas, a landlocked state in the South, one might think that Maine is an alien place to me with its picturesque coastline, moose and winters in the negatives rather than a low of 30 degrees. However, since I have “lived” in Maine for the past four years as a Bowdoin College student, I […]

Political chatter focuses these days on whether we risk trading democracy for authoritarian rule. But the record shows we are well past that. These days, many critical government decisions are made by a single person. In a democracy, such a person is too powerful. Not that a single person controls our entire government, but one-person […]