An Inconvenient Four Months

In London at one of his final European concerts Leonard Cohen apologized to his audience for sky-high ticket prices that had caused financial inconvenience for many. With a nod to the memory of Canada’s gift to the world, I’m borrowing his phrase. Several have asked what specifically was the back-surgery Dr. Joshua Ammerman performed on July 17th.  It was bi-lateral lumbar 4-5 laminectomy. He judges the … Continue reading An Inconvenient Four Months

Chaos to Prosperity, Encounters with a Changing China

In the summer of 1967 two friends and I visited the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. We were graduate students in a US-funded program on east-west relations and eager to get a Chinese perspective. Received with awkward formality, we were escorted to a reception room and told to wait while our host excused himself, returning a few minutes later with three English-language editions of the … Continue reading Chaos to Prosperity, Encounters with a Changing China