Monthly Archives: July 2013
Sharia Law
The other day when Republicans in the North Carolina House of Representatives slipped anti-abortion provisions into legislation forbidding Sharia law, I asked myself, “In the first place, why are these people so upset about Sharia law?” So I did a little digging, and the reasons became clear: Under Sharia law, charity is obligatory, as is […]
Poker
Poker is in my blood, but so is losing, so I won’t be turning pro. My parents played poker every week, in spite of being Baptists. In my father’s case, the Baptist prohibition against gambling was one of many “thou shalt nots” that he honored in the breach rather than in the observance, but you […]
Left Behind
Some childhood memories just won’t go away. This is one I can’t forget: My brother had his first car at 15, and when he was old enough to drive, he had his second, a Chevy Bel Air, blue and white. He drove to school, out on dates, and on Sundays he drove his car to […]
The Schwabl
Many, many years ago, in the early 1960s, I dated a young woman whose older brother was something of a legend. While a student at a college that shall remain nameless (RPI), a member of an anonymous (Delta Tau Delta) campus fraternity, he was awakened one Saturday morning by a model airplane enthusiast flying his […]
Faithful Readers 