We were blessed to be able to go to a wonderful wedding yesterday for another one of my remarkable nephews and his equally remarkable bride. The wedding ceremony was held outside under perfect conditions, where the bride and groom shared a beautiful set of vows with each other. After a fun outdoor reception, it was … Continue reading A Hidden Challenge of Being the Bride and Groom
Overdose deaths from stimulants in California nearly quadrupled between 2010 and 2019, and the problem has gotten even worse since. Preliminary data from the first nine months of 2020 — when much of the state was locked down because of the coronavirus— shows stimulant overdose deaths jumped 42% compared to 2019. California has proposed a … Continue reading Can Money Help People to “Just Say No”?
Of course, that's assuming I am correctly interpreting the results of a study recently conducted at the University of Michigan, and that the study was conducted properly. The study, published in the journal Nature Food, is based around healthy life expectancy - the length of time a person has a good quality of life and … Continue reading If I Eat 44 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches Every Day, I Might Live Forever…
Across the U.S., colleges are getting ready to start a new academic year. For recent high school graduates, and their parents, it is a momentous occasion. For many of these students, it will be their first time away from parental supervision, and for some of the parents, it will be the first time they won't … Continue reading To Track or Not to Track?
Eleven years ago New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an opinion piece titled "We're No. 1(1)!" The title was in reference to a Newsweek ranking of the 100 best countries in the world. The U.S. didn't even make the top 10; we came in at No. 11. Not bad, but it seems that for … Continue reading We’re Number 11, Again! 😦
Today's CBS Sunday Morning show had an episode: "Helping students cope with the pressure to succeed." Quick summary: Experts say that students from high achieving schools, who are privileged in terms of educational opportunities, are at greater risk of substance abuse, depression, and anxiety than the national norm, because of an unrelenting, insidious pressure to … Continue reading The Pressure Is Real
A friend recently asked me if I was interested in attending an indoor concert in early October. As much as I would enjoy both his company and the music, I declined the invitation, stating that I was not yet comfortable attending an indoor concert because of COVID concerns. He replied that he totally understood, but … Continue reading Using COVID As a Reason to Decline an Invitation…
A team from the Universities of Cambridge, Bristol, and the University College London’s Social Research Institute find that both education and job stresses during a person’s late teens and early 20s can predict who will or won’t suffer from heart trouble 20 years later. Moreover, researchers say these early experiences in the working world actually … Continue reading Dear Young People: Choose Your First Job Carefully
I've been a teacher for over 35 years, and I'll be the first to admit that there is no way I could ever give a talk as good as the TED Talk that seven-year-old Molly Wright just gave. That's right, seven years old. Molly's talk focused on what adults can do to help children "thrive … Continue reading Could a Game of Peekaboo Change the World?
Researchers at Northwestern University say that every time another $50,000 is accumulated by middle age, an individual’s risk of death drops by five percent. In addition, for those who had stashed $139,000 more than a sibling, their chances of outliving them increased by 13 percent. The study is based on 5,400 Americans tracked for almost … Continue reading Money May Not Buy You Happiness, But It Does Buy You a Few Extra Years
Borden's Blather 