Archive for the ‘On this day in history’ Category
Thanks to a long and glorious history of missing major astronomical events, I didn’t get my hopes up when I heard about last night’s “super blood wolf moon.” But guess what? For once I met all the criteria of (1) being awake, (2) occupying the right hemisphere, and (3) having clear skies. And here’s the […]
Filed under: Minnesota, On this day in history | 73 Comments
Tags: astrophotography, lunar eclipse, super wolf blood moon
A soldier’s view of World War I
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. I hope longtime readers will forgive my republishing this piece, but I can think of no better way to honor the soldiers who died than to keep their memories alive. I am immensely and forever indebted to Gilles Thomas and Gilles Chauwin […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history | 60 Comments
Tags: Armistice Day, Braye quarry, Braye-en-Laon, Carriere de Braye, Chemin des Dames, Gilles Chauwin, Gilles Thomas, La creute des Yankees, Laon, Veterans Day, World War i, World War I centennary
How to pass for a Minnesotan
As I type this, people from all over the country are gathering in Minneapolis for this weekend’s Superb Owl* game. For over a week I’ve been meaning to go downtown and bring you a full report of the ice sculptures and the zipline over the Mississippi river, plus an assortment of other Superb Owl* festivities. […]
Filed under: On this day in history | 75 Comments
Tags: Dress for winter, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota winter, Super Bowl, Talk Minnesotan
On this day 73 years ago, French and American troops liberated Paris from Nazi occupation. Louise Dillery remembers; she was there. Louise was born in Paris on December 14, 1925 to Radjzla (“Rose”) Silberstein and Israël Gradstein, Jewish Polish immigrants who met in Paris. My mother was from Warsaw, and my father was from Lodz […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Paris, Psychology | 53 Comments
Tags: Israel Gradstein, Liberation of Paris, Louise Gradstein, Lycée Victor Hugo, Paris deportations, Paris occupation, Père Théomir Devaux, Radjzla Rose Silberstein, Renée Lévy, Shoah Paris
If you live in the U.S., you likely find yourself in one of the following states tonight: 1. tired of hearing about the eclipse, 2. dying to see your next eclipse, or 3. disappointed you missed the eclipse. I first learned of the now-infamous solar event on April 27, 2017 in the Palm Beach Post’s […]
Filed under: On this day in history, Psychology | 70 Comments
Tags: 2017 eclipse, Great American Eclipse, solar eclipse
One man’s journey to Hiroshima
Before visiting a new city Esteban and I usually read up on its history. But thanks to an overambitious itinerary, we knew little about Rouen when we arrived in September of 2015. Rouen was among Europe’s most prosperous and influential cities during the Middle Ages. Our first night was a blur (I’ll tell you about […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Psychology | 46 Comments
Tags: atomic bomb, Enola Gay, Hiroshima, Paul Tibbets, Rouen, Rouen bombing, World War II
How UNICEF sees refugees
Graphic created with images and posts compiled from UNICEF’s Twitter feed. All images copyright UNICEF. Read more about UNICEF’s work with refugees.
Filed under: On this day in history, Psychology | 23 Comments
Tags: refugee children, refugee crisis, refugee statistics, UNICEF
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Image copyright Pete Souza / White House
Filed under: On this day in history, Random thoughts | 26 Comments
Tags: Martin Luther King Jr.
That’s how the light gets in
In memory of Leonard Cohen, 9/21/1934 – 11/10/2016
Filed under: On this day in history | 76 Comments
Tags: Leonard Cohen
Remembering Douglas Albert Munro
Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. — a day to remember and honor those we’ve lost to the senseless tragedy that is war. Here’s one story, about a distant relative, I first published in 2014. May Doug and his sacrifice never be forgotten. On September 27 1942, Douglas Albert Munro sacrificed his life in […]
Filed under: Friends and family, History, On this day in history | 25 Comments
Tags: Battle of Matanikau, Douglas Albert Munro, Douglas Munro, Guadalcanal, Medal of Honor
Looking back at 2015 — and ahead
I would love to hear your end-of-year reflections: 1. What was your greatest accomplishment? (Tell me so I can cheer for you!) 2. If you could do one thing over, what would it be? 3. What are you most looking forward to in 2016? I had to think hard when I read my friend Carolyn’s […]
Filed under: On this day in history, Psychology | 28 Comments
Tags: 2015, einstein, happy new year, new year resolutions, New year's day
My Christmas wish for you all
Filed under: On this day in history, Random thoughts | 15 Comments
Tags: Christmas, fontplay, night sky, Photography
Lessons from my father
When I visited my parents last year, they offered me the red photo album that chronicles my first two years. I was reluctant to take it because it’s a piece of our family history. But my mom insisted: “These are your photos,” she said. “You should have them.” I’ve been thumbing through the album for […]
Filed under: Friends and family, On this day in history, Psychology | 19 Comments
Tags: dad, father's day, thank you to my father
Honoring the man who saved Paris
This post is dedicated to my friend Gilles Thomas, for his tireless devotion to preserving the work — and honoring the memory — of Charles-Axel Guillaumot. Suppose you’ve been hired to oversee a vast and vital railroad network. Now imagine that, on the very first day of your new job, one of the trains on […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Paris, Travel | 11 Comments
Tags: Carrière Cochin, catacombes de Paris, cataphiles, Charles-Axel Guillaumot, Cochin quarry, Gilles Thomas, Graham Robb, La sauveur de Paris, Paris catacombs, rue d'Enfer
This morning I met with a couple who are trying to adopt a child. It’s a rigorous application process, so they asked me to help write a “family biography” about their background, values, and hopes for their future child. Two things struck me about the conversation: First, how carefully they’d considered their decision to adopt. […]
Filed under: Friends and family, On this day in history, Psychology | 13 Comments
Tags: adopted daughter, adoption, Día de las Madres, long division, mom, Mother's Day, Spanish lessons, Tomás de Aquino
What the hail?!
“In Minnesota it’s not May 3rd today; it’s the 54th of February.” I was pretty winter-weary when I posted that on Facebook two years ago. The winter of 2013 was rough. But what a difference two years make! Today was glorious — sunny and 81 (27C) degrees — so I spent a few hours gardening. […]
Filed under: On this day in history | 13 Comments
Tags: hail, Minnesota, Minnesota weather, thunderstorm
Today is the third annual United Nations International Day of Happiness. I was going to write about a U.N. study’s findings that Social isolation is as potent a cause of early death as smoking, and the epidemic of loneliness is twice as deadly as obesity.” But that seemed a bit too depressing and scholarly. So […]
Filed under: On this day in history, Psychology | 20 Comments
Tags: International Day of Happiness, U.N., United Nations
Stumbling stones into the past
During my first visit to Freiburg, Germany, one of the things that most impressed me was the meticulously cobbled streets. So precisely cut are the stones that you can walk on them for hours without tiring — and the mosaics are as much of a feast for the eyes as the shop windows above them. […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Psychology | 20 Comments
Tags: Alice Berta Günzburger, Freiburg, Gunter Demnig, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Leslie Maitland, Samuel Sigmar Günzburger, Stolpersteine
Et maintenant, on est Nico …
On Sunday, an estimated 1.3 million people marched in Paris — the largest gathering since the city’s liberation from the Nazis — to show their solidarity and support for free speech. Some 40 heads of state led the march, and La Marseillaise echoed through the narrow streets once again. All very historic stuff. But the […]
Filed under: Attempted humor, On this day in history | 12 Comments
Tags: #JeSuisNico, Elvis and Bigfoot riding Loch Ness Monster, Je Suis Nico, Nicolas Sarkozy meme, Paris march 2015, Photoshop
Which wolf will YOU feed?
With one possible exception, I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions. If something in our life needs fixing, why wait until January 1? But I’m a huge believer in the power of our small, everyday choices: Every thought and action moves us either closer to our best selves — or farther away. In that […]
Filed under: On this day in history, Psychology | 15 Comments
Tags: Cherokee Elder, Cherokee wolf legend, good wolf bad wolf, the wolf you feed, which wolf wins
