The belief that certain people(s) are inherently superior to others and that “lesser” peoples need to be controlled did not begin with the Nazis.  Margaret Sanger, Woodrow Wilson and other Americans joined together with others in Europe decades before the Nazis to argue that birth control would help to control the “lesser” peoples, that blacks could not learn mechanical skills and that somehow the “superior” white race which had created Western Civilization needed to control the animalistic reproductive urges of the “lesser” peoples before they swamped the civilized world.

I am often asked, “what is your favorite cigar?” to which I reply with the following points to be answered:

• What time of day is it?
• Am I going for a walk, reading, or watching a movie?
• How long shall I be doing the activity?
• Will I have a cocktail or cognac with the cigar?
• How did my day go?
• What mood am I in?
• Etc.

There are a few novels that I will read more than once, for the simple reason that most novels are poorly written or predictable. I have just re-read this novel for the third time, the first time was in 1977, the last in 2007. I have found that each reading is a treat as the story and characters are realistic. This is a story about a man, Sam Damon, the product of small-town America. We follow his journey as he joins the U.S. Army during World War I and makes a career with all of it’s mind numbing stupidities, undying loyalty and honor and knowledge that the real reward is in his sense of his own identity and purpose.  Although a novel, it was written during the height of the Viet Nam war and is required reading by Marine officers and occasionally used in leadership courses at West Point.

A few years ago, I was in St. Petersburg and on a tour to the Hermitage.  The guide was a big man, over six feet tall, impressively built with a scar on one cheek.  I was able to ask him a few questions about his life and I found that he had been a Colonel in the Soviet nuclear missile forces stationed in Siberia. When asked why he left such a responsible position to end up on a bus loaded with tourists, he explained that when the Soviet Union collapsed, he was deactivated and yet he preferred his new job.  Why?  As he explained, his base was in the middle of a great forest, snowed in for most of the year, surrounded by vicious bears and all there was to eat was gruel.  The look on his face and the way he said the word “gruel” brought home to me more than any book what his life, which was relatively privileged must have been like for those who were imprisoned in the Gulag.

I have always found it interesting that some of the very best histories are written not by professors, but rather by individuals who have not spent their entire lives studying a specific field or discipline.  Journalists can very often write fine histories, perhaps because they are used to looking at everyday people earlier in their careers.  Rick Atkinson, a former staff writer and editor at The Washington Post has won Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism and his trilogy on the U.S. war effort in World War II is an example of research and writing at it’s finest.  In this book, the first of a trilogy on the American Revolution, Mr. Atkinson has again created a work that is unusually fine in the quality of the research, evenhandedness and writing.  In fact, he has created a history that reads more like an adventure novel, filled with tension, humanity, pain and relief. I believe that even a well-read historian of the period will find much that is new and well balanced in this book.

The question is real and can have a dramatic impact on our Constitutional Rights, on how our tax dollars are being spent and on how we will confront the next virus or disease. Critical thinking is required for a successful life and if you fail to listen to this short video (less than 18 minutes), you will be seriously short changing your future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5wn1qs_bBk&fbclid=IwAR0NYzCf9EVwkyOmuc4k-E6o2Br3siWo7cylc08VcXtqkjhB86UhQvpIX3w

What is beauty and how would you define it? Is it subjective or does it have an objective element? Is it something you can easily forget or can it represent something higher within us? What motivates an individual or society to create something of beauty? This excellent video discusses the role of beauty in our life and examines the cost of downgrading the definition of beauty and art. I hope you enjoy it and that it will make a small bit of difference in your life.

There is an old saying that every cloud has a silver lining and this article from The Federalist is an example of that truism. Many parents are seeing for the first time what exactly is being taught to their children and they are often shocked. Instead of teaching an eleven year old the old “3Rs” (none of which seem to be taught all that successfully) this example of schooling covers diversity, equality, critical race theory, cultural appropriation, and more. Parents may begin to take a second look and take more interest in their children’s education. The growth of charter schools is fueled by concerned parents looking for viable educational options for their children. The virus may provide consequence that could not have been imagined just a few weeks ago. If you have children, or grandchildren, this article is worth a quick read. https://tinyurl.com/v2zdjdu

533 Toulouse St.

New Orleans, LA 70130

504-372-4838

cigarbarnola.com

Cuban Creations bills itself as the only French Quarters Cigar Bar and they are correct in the sense that they have set out to be a cigar bar and have not been a cigar store that sells cigars and happens to have chairs. It is an interesting little place; it has an area with comfortable chairs, big screen televisions and serves a good selection of both cigars and drinks. I personally prefer sitting at the bar which is by the front door, especially during the evening.

With the patio type doors open, you see and feel the street and talking to the help, one can pick up some interesting details of local happenings. Want to hear the latest details on the doctor who tucked his wife in and went for a stroll only to be found dead in a dicey part of town? You can get the up to the minute details. Who are some of the more interesting characters on the street? The staff will know.

The drinks are good, a good selection of cigars and a bonus as you feel more in touch with the city. It is not right on Bourbon street so it has more of a real touch to it.

One of the joys of visiting New Orleans is the ability to wander in wonderful book stores; not the chain stores that are in malls, but in quirky little hide shops where you have to walk sideways through stacks and columns of books that can tower above you.  There you find treasures that have been passed down from reader to reader, sometimes with their names on the inside cover, sometimes with a birthday wish or a wish for recovery from some momentary disaster.  It was in one such book shop where I ran across a 1935 edition of this book which I had seen mentioned in both fiction and non-fiction historical volumes.  The illustrations are pen and ink and the editor takes care to place each section in proper context so that you feel you are getting the essence of the writer’s thoughts and feelings.