In modern day America, if we have a problem we usually go see a doctor or visit the drugstore. But in olden days, people had to take care of themselves. Every settlement or town had an intuitive, wise healer who became the local gatherer of liniments and lore. Back in the 1880s, my own grandmother […]
Dear C, My brother Kenny and I are having a disagreement. He’s been having digestive problems off and on, but refuses to get checked out. He is of the opinion that if you don’t look for trouble, you won’t find it. He reels out story after story of people he knew who were okay until they […]
For years, the primary aim of health care reform has been to make insurance affordable for everyone. The assumption was that a lack of access to medical care is behind our country’s dismal standing in overall health. But another possibility is forming like a ghostly spectre above the huddled masses yearning to be well: There’s […]
Dear C: I have tried to quit many times, but I still smoke. Don’t give me a lecture, I know all about the dangers, but I have too much pressure in my life right now to add more by going cold turkey and neither the patch nor nicotine gum worked for me. Then I discovered […]
Type the word “cleanse” into any search engine and splat! a glitzy array of advertisements will gush out of cyberspace with the force of an exploding soda bottle. A cleanse craze seems to sweep the country every spring, and there is no scarcity of celebrities to endorse them. It seems to make sense on an […]
I remember a class discussion in fifth grade. The teacher at our suburban middle school was talking about “poor people” and the challenges they faced. A kid from an affluent family raised his hand and interrupted. “My dad says poor people have what they deserve. If they worked harder, they wouldn’t be poor.” Most of […]
Dear C, I’m engaged to a really great guy. He was born in Taipei but learned English when he was very young and came to the US for college. His parents came for a visit to meet me last week. After eating at several good restaurants around town, we invited them to our apartment for […]
After several days of controversy, Rhode Island Governor Gina “Flip Flops for Summer” Raimondo announced that the entire Rhode Island Tourism Campaign was actually an elaborate April Fool’s joke. “The media is saturated with nonsense,” Raimondo said in an early morning press conference. “We knew that we’d have to do something really silly just to stand out. “That […]
Subway is now among the partnerships being called on to help promote the Ocean State as part of the new branding just released. Yes, the chain of sandwich shops will feature “picturesque” photos of Iceland and other parts of the world, with the message “Visit Rhode Island” under each. “We think the fact that they make no […]
It is a mystery, an unsolved crime: The US demands more cash for medical care than any other country in the world, yet we rank a dismal 39 in overall health. We cannot manage to provide universal coverage for our citizens, which is an anomaly in the civilized financially ranking world. But no wonder — […]