Let me tell you why. — It was not an easy thing to turn my back on Christianity at nearly 60 years of age. Since my childhood, church had been the hub of social life for me. Prayer had started every meal, and Christian ritual had solemnized the sacred moments and transition points of life. …

A Master of Fine Arts at 69 — How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use! As tho’ to breathe were life! Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains: but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things …

The Other Side of Consent — A comment on one of my recent articles caught my attention. A young man expressed appreciation for my advice about letting friendship grow before deciding whether to explore a sexual connection. The problem was, he said, sometimes women he went out with were ready for sex before he was. Now…

But I digress. — Got to bed late Wednesday night. Stayed up into Thursday morning with a trending Netflix movie, The School for Good and Evil. Not the biggest mistake I made last week, but I don’t recommend it.* *First digression: Like the Earth, this show could be described as “mostly harmless.” Visually charming…

What will replace it? — The exodus has been alarming to observe. The reality of life on Planet Earth falls well short of idyllic, I will grant, with the twin threats looming of environmental and societal collapse. Still, most of us aren’t ready to give up on it. Our blue-blue spaceboat has its charms. For one, we Earthlings have a thing called…

It isn’t just about the ups and downs — During the final decade of my 30-year career in clinical psychology, I specialized in differential psychodiagnostics, teasing out the clues distinguishing one disorder from another. …

Bless their tiny little hearts — Look, I get it. Lives are on the line. We’re on the brink of seeing our democracy devolve into the theocratic monarchy of Trump. Everyone who isn’t White, cis-het, US-born, able-bodied, Christian, and (above all) rich is watching their once constitutionally-protected rights circle the drain, and red habits with white…

How do you define professional? — The patrons of the arts in evening dress arrive downtown at six so they can park and dine at leisure, then just walk across the street to take their seats by curtain time. The soloist, a prodigy from Prague, plays brilliantly, and with the orchestra reminds them why they still come out to hear a live…

#2: I translate Neruda without speaking Spanish — Inquiring minds are asking, what makes Ed Robson so interesting? Okay, only two of them, and one of them was actually asking what makes me believe I’m interesting at all. Which I think is kind of harsh from an imaginary friend. But in the hope that someone among my now…