Mysteries of the Known Knowns

You might be aware of the TV miniseries Mysteries of the Unknown, a show that seeks answers to our history’s mysteries. I want to propose another miniseries: Mysteries of the Known Knowns – a show that seeks answers to the things we know we know from our recent history. Here are six suggested episodes with…

As the World Turns

The made-for-TV melodrama General Fauci has aired for a year and a half. Its storyline of a global pandemic, mimicking the fantasy narratives of the “We’re-all-gonna-die-unless-somebody-from-science-saves us” pandemic movies of recent years, has a twist. Instead of the pandemic creating zombies, the pandemic mitigation methods – masks and vaccines – creates zombies. The main character…

The First Noël

The following took place during my thirteenth year . . . A week before Christmas Day, a gaggle of us self-conscious teenagers loaded into three cars. We headed to Elgin State Hospital, formerly called the Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane. Our church’s youth group leader had decided that, in the spirit of Christmas,…

Dead to Rights

    Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. Many more attempt suicide. Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds globally… There are indications that for each adult who died of suicide there may…