I don’t think I’m unique among old peeps when it comes to having no idea what happened to the world I used to know. OK, there’s some hyperbole in that statement. Obviously, in a rational sense, I know exactly what happened. The low-tech, mechanical, person-to-person world of my ...

As children, folk fairy tales were often told to us as a way of teaching life lessons or shaping young children’s morals. But fairy tales have deeper, hidden meanings that relate to reality and can be used in an absurd and entertaining way to teach a child — or a more grown up reader ...

I can’t tell you the day, the month or even the year that it happened. But I can tell you the moment. Standing in front of an 8th-grade class, teaching a lesson on writing, I said, “This paragraph is pretty good, but we need to tweak it a bit.” Some soft titters came from the back of ...

Cucumbers are part of many ethnic cuisines throughout Asia and Europe. In many cuisines, they are served with yogurt, which complements their mild flavor. Cucumber-yogurt sauces are common in Greece (tzatziki), India (raita) and Iran (mast). Botanically, the cucumber is a fruit, but it is ...