Archive for May 2017

10 observations about new Writers Museum

The May 16 opening of the marvelous American Writers Museum, the only one of its kind in the country, has been well publicized. So, instead of an superfluous announcement of its existence, here are 10 random observations from my first visit: • It appears that a decent effort was made to include nonwhites and women.... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 29, 2017 at 9:24 am
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Getting second opinions about dental work

When we’re told we have a serious disease that requires extensive medical treatment, getting a second opinion is common. But who gets second opinions for dental care? Second opinions are probably the most unused consumer tool in dentistry, the website checkbook.org notes. In my case, not just unused but unthought of. It wasn’t until after... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 23, 2017 at 12:00 pm
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The Old South persists amidst the New South

The states of the Confederacy have long intrigued me. As the rest of the country morphed into standardized American culture, my thinking went, the Deep South was different. I didn’t mean different in a good way. I wondered how much racism persists in the states that went to war over slavery. Every time I traveled... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 17, 2017 at 12:05 pm
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The Shack: a decade-late review

As I’ve done with lots of things that became sensations, I came late to the party. I’d never heard of The Shack until it was a recent subject of discussion at my church. The novel by a Canadian author was on the New York Times bestseller list for 70 weeks starting in June 2008, at... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 8, 2017 at 12:36 pm
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What follows from facing up to mortality?

My brother-in-law’s cousin died in March of a brain tumor. She was 55. Two weeks ago I went to the funeral of a friend’s brother who died of cancer at age 58. “You’re the only person I know who still has both parents and all siblings living,” my friend said. Two days after that funeral,... Read more »
By Marianne Goss,
May 2, 2017 at 10:27 am
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