The lilacs have bloomed.Lovers dance and poets swoon.Odes to spring and all that.But we muffle our groans,We defer to the sun.We surrender to the day,The lilacs have bloomed,And who are we to say?Would we have it any other way?"God love us and save us,"My mother, Rose, used to say.The lilacs have bloomed,And here we are, … Continue reading Lilacs bloom, and here we are
The banality of Putin’s evil
“It is difficult to say what forced him to change from the profession of rescuer to the profession of war criminal.” — Dmytro Repliaanchuk, Ukrainian journalist, on a Russian firefighter suspected of committing atrocities in Bucha Evil is hard to understand, and for most of us impossible to understand. The average man or woman lives … Continue reading The banality of Putin’s evil
Eagles fighting over fish
We saw two eagles fighting in flight,Fighting in flight over a fish.There were thousands of fish in the river below,Thousands of shad and herring up from the sea.But these two eagles fought over one — a shad, we think.A fight over a shad when there was plenty of shad.So we stood and watched eagles in … Continue reading Eagles fighting over fish
Deer Creek inspires a new choral work
Wednesday’s Sun column was based on my Easter Sunday trip to Deer Creek in Harford County, a long river that starts in Pennsylvania and meanders through north-central Maryland before meeting the Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay. It so happens that that the creek inspired a choral work that will be performed in a concert this … Continue reading Deer Creek inspires a new choral work
Peter Jay’s elegant writing and insights now in a book
Longtime Baltimore Sun readers will recall Peter A. Jay's op-ed columns that ran for some 24 years, from the 1970s into the 1990s, because they were a delight -- even if you didn't agree with his conservative take on things. Jay's was certainly some of the most elegant and clever prose to run in the … Continue reading Peter Jay’s elegant writing and insights now in a book
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and an April of discovery
If you don’t mind the personal indulgence, I’d like to reflect on something wonderful that happened to me, many of my high school classmates and the people of my Massachusetts hometown 50 years ago this month. It was a high school production of the great musical, “Fiddler On The Roof,” something that by now has … Continue reading ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and an April of discovery
Reaching out and back, across time
Jocelyn Saiki, age 2 I wrote a column for The Sunday Sun about Jocelyn Saiki’s quest to find the man who saved her life in 1972, when she was just a toddler. A man she never knew. A man who would be 70 years old now, if still alive. Saiki wants to thank him for … Continue reading Reaching out and back, across time
The Ukrainians of Baltimore
St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, Baltimore My column in The Sun today results from a dive into some old documents, including stories in the newspaper archives, about people who came from what we once called "The Ukraine" when it was part of imperial Russia and, later, the Soviet Union. The more I speak with Ukrainian-Americans … Continue reading The Ukrainians of Baltimore
Brain Gain: Can you list six things you learned in the last month?
Can you list six facts you learned — or came to appreciate in a more profound way — in the last month? Give it a try. It’s a pretty good exercise for the mind and probably a good way to retain things you've picked up from reading or watching the news. I list six such … Continue reading Brain Gain: Can you list six things you learned in the last month?
Competent leadership can stop Putin. That’s not something you wish for. It’s something you vote for.
“Please don’t wish,” I heard a woman say. That was her retort to some wishful thinking about life, her answer to hearing someone express hope that things could be different. I look at Putin today and his barbaric attacks on Ukraine, and I wish we could just wish him away. When you feel powerless to … Continue reading Competent leadership can stop Putin. That’s not something you wish for. It’s something you vote for.
Dan Rodricks 