I just spent the day in Chechnya. Less than two decades ago, this Russian republic in the southern region known as the Caucuses was completely decimated by war. In fact, the UN called Chechnya the worst war-time destruction in any territory since WWII. Even as the...
The phone rang with some discouraging news. A project we’d been working on for months, that we thought was in the bag (at least in principle), was starting to look unexpectedly shaky. It really caught me off guard. I found my mind wandering during my other morning...
The colorful flags of the nations were everywhere. They adorned a cluster of poles in the parking lot. They covered the back walls and stairwells of the auditorium. A giant globe sat atop a spare change fountain in the lobby, and about 300 plaques with faces of...
I hated my food touching when I was a kid. Ok, perhaps I should be completely forthright. I [currently, right now, as a grown adult] still hate [active, present tense] when my food touches on my plate. You know, like when the juice from your green beans seeps into...
Nick was born into a well-to-do family in Torún, Poland. His father was a very successful business man, but he passed away unexpectedly when Nick was just 10 years old. So Nick was sent to live with his uncle, an Episcopalian Bishop, who saw to his education and...