The Civil War formally ended on April 9, 1865 when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. But news traveled slowly back then and it wasn’t until June 19, more than two months later, that news of the South’s defeat arrived in Galveston, Texas…
By Tyler Melito It happens every spring. Thirty Major League Baseball (MLB) teams take the field to start playing more than 4,800 games. It’s a special time of year. Former Yale University president and Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti described it best: “Baseball breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins…
By Mark Orwoll The summer of 2021 is full of hope and promise. If vaccinations proceed apace, it will be the season to celebrate our first breath of freedom in more than a year. Freedom from our homebound lives. Freedom from kitchen-table schoolrooms. Freedom from cultural incarceration. And, yes, freedom from Zoom. As Americans begin…
By Karin Leperi It’s not often you arrive in town and your first thoughts are, “Get thee to a nunnery.” Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, is one of those unexpected exceptions where that saying holds true. It’s a fascinating place where culture, history, religion, architecture, and stories from the past come together to define the…
By Tyler Melito Black History Month is a time to remember the significant contributions Afro Americans have made to our society. This certainly is the case in sports. Whether it’s Tiger Woods in golf or football’s Jim Brown, who dominated the NFL during his nine year career, black superstars from Muhammad Ali and Jesse Owens…
Fairies are said to calm the horses living at the Irish Stud, so ethereal sprites are welcome though seldom seen using their fairie doors. By Liz Campbell Why do we travel? To stand awestruck at nature’s vibrant sculpting of rock and sand in the Grand Canyon or Rainbow Mountain? Or delight in human landscapes like…
By Barbara Beckley “This is the spot! Here on the tarmac where William Shatner, Christopher Lloyd and Katrina Bowden, (a 20-something girl in a swimsuit) were chatting next to a fancy convertible parked between two Vietnam-era fighter jets,” says Ann Greer, an official with the Palm Springs Air Museum located at 745 North Gene Autry…
By Larry Bleiberg Everyone, it seems, has a theory about Peru’s Nazca Lines. The mysterious markings on the desert floor are a massive astronomical calendar. That’s a popular one. Or maybe they point to hidden reserves of water, the source of life in the desert. Then there’s my favorite: a UFO landing site. More than…
Four of our greatest presidents. Or two slave owners, a racist and an Indian killer? Will a Minnesota beat cop’s act of brutality change America’s perception of its past? By Mark Orwoll There are countless paths across America. I’ve followed many of them. Route 66, with its tepee motels, trading posts, and homey cafés. The…
