Forty years ago, John Wayne showed the world what “True Grit” looked like. Grit is all about passion and perseverance as we work towards goals that matter -- even in the face of delays, setbacks, obstacles, and barriers. While grittiness has its drawbacks in some circumstances, it can be important to keep from letting failure shape your perspective. In fact, a recent study of early career faculty revealed that perseverance in the face of early failure can boost overall career success. Getting

Good morning, America. Seriously, is it alright for the President of the United States to make a quid pro quo deal for personal gain -- leveraging desperately needed military funds to a nation in the middle of a war to investigate a political rival? Would you feel that way for all presidents? Republicans have struggled to answer this question. They’ve been tying themselves into knots, casting doubt on everyone from whistleblowers to our intelligence community, asking no questions of the

Growing up in northeastern Pennsylvania, there was only one time I recall using a serious swear word in front of my parents: learning to drive a stick shift in our white 1972 VW Beetle. There I was, on a practice drive with my Dad in the town of Luzerne, a few miles from our house in Trucksville -- yes, that’s a place. We were sitting at a stoplight, the light turned green and I popped the clutch and stalled. Tried it again. Nothing. A third time. Zip. Then came the expletive. It wasn’t the

We have warned previously of the danger of hyperpartisanship. The parties are widely and bitterly divided, resembling enraged partisans standing on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon mindlessly hurling imprecations at each other. Now conditions have deteriorated even further. No, not impeachment. The dangerous deterioration precedes that. The danger is lawlessness, and both sides are guilty. Trump defiles the limited concept of executive orders. He reallocates funds for unauthorized purposes. He

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old who spoke recently at the United Nations summit on climate change, couldn’t hide her sadness and frustration. “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction,” she said, “and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales about eternal economic growth. How dare you!” Some people say that she is too emotional about all this. But maybe they should listen to her speeches to the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress -- and think again. Time after time she has

Pull the ball and it would land in the neighbor’s backyard. During street football, the braver ones among us would take to the small strip of grass between sidewalk and street where for a brief moment, tackle, not touch, was the rule. In fact, we made our own rules. Get knocked down by your friend’s older brother? Fall into the snowbank going for a layup, only to have your face nudged further into the snow? Whatever the issue, the last thing we would ever think to do would be to tell our parents

Lisa Randall is a science professor at Harvard. Physics. Dark matter. Stuff like that. I’m currently interested in what she discovered from a big hole in Oxford Street, a street on campus that was shut down for repairs. Most folks would see the closing of a street as a nuisance. Not so for Lisa Randall. She discovered something positive. She saw the street turn into another walkway for the campus. It actually brought people together. And then she thought that’s what more cities should do.

“Sure,” I said after my friend asked me to watch her plants while she’s out of town for three weeks. I felt I could handle the job because I’ve kept an orchid and a jade plant alive for 10 years. I figured the little pine tree and the amaryllis plant would be a snap. They didn’t look menacing. The amaryllis is the more cooperative one. I gave it water and it has produced amazing blooms, four in total; it is beyond gorgeous. The pine tree on the other hand, needs an attitude adjustment. The pine

Do the Right Thing , Spike Lee’s 1989 film, has been rolling around in my thoughts of late. And when I heard historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Jon Meacham, at Aurora University a few weeks ago, he used that -- a look at o ur present moment through the lens of history, reminding us of previous times of division and fear. Meacham believes the soul of this country is not all good or bad - - that our better angels battle regularly with our lesser ones. I had hoped he would broach the

According to scientific studies, no single gene can be found to account for it. But in the spirit of openness and tolerance, I do my best to accept those with it. It seems to be found in every culture, every ethnic group, and has been referenced in ancient literature, including the Bible. Could it possibly be caused by multiple genes, biological influences, or epigenetic factors? One thing is certain--I am determined to accept those affected by it, even if it is a choice. To be honest, some