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By ALLEN WOODS

In my first try at college, beginning in 1968, I didn’t major in journalism, or English, but experimented with writing, and read voraciously. A literate friend tutored me in the types and styles of writing, including the period’s passionate debate on...

By ALLEN WOODS

I’m generally not a fan of speeches at political conventions. The long list of speakers preaches to the choir when they need to reach a broader congregation. They feel free to make extravagant promises without specifics or programs to support them....

By ALLEN WOODS

One inevitable, and unenviable, task of getting older is accepting that people who made an impact on your life die. Today, they might be termed “influencers,” although for me, influence stemmed from actions and accomplishments beyond looking...

By ALLEN WOODS

It’s a new presidential race now, with opponents who couldn’t be more opposite. As a loudmouthed promoter of democracy and constitutional defender, you’d think I’d be thrilled at casting my vote in what people consider “the most important election in...

By ALLEN WOODS

It seemed the voracious broadcast media fanned out almost before the vivid red blood streaming down Donald Trump’s face had a chance to be cleaned in an ambulance. They wanted reactions from eyewitnesses, and asked the usual inane questions.Most...

By ALLEN WOODS

Americans spent a lot of time and emotion fighting among ourselves in 1969. We fought over the Vietnam War, the compulsory military draft, and the “counterculture” springing from it. As a youngish man (or oldish boy) nearing 20, I was happy to march...

By ALLEN WOODS

Earlier this year, my extended family met in Washington, D.C. to celebrate multiple anniversaries and accomplishments and marvel at the grandeur of our nation’s capital. The elders and young adults relived some memories with the two youngest boys and...

By ALLEN WOODS

In the midst of a holiday season, when giving thanks and giving gifts focus our thoughts, how do we walk upright, maintaining a semblance of balance, through a decidedly broken world? It’s been a question for me ever since my personal world was broken...

By ALLEN WOODS

Here’s a gift — a weekend we generally consider the end of summer, and a paid day off (for some) from the workplace. Most of us will take a short trip, indulge in a hobby, or simply laze about without even considering the day’s original intent:...

By ALLEN WOODS

As I was stumbling and grousing through a seemingly endless series of rainy days recently, I happened upon the cover of a book titled “Cheerfulness.” It features a blue sky and a young woman with a cluster of multicolored balloons in the foreground.My...

By ALLEN WOODS

A 1963 Broadway musical provided a catchy tune that could serve as an anthem for parents and elders today, and probably going back to those dwelling in caves: “Kids! . . . Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way?” Armed with hazy memories...

By ALLEN WOODS

Memorial Day always immerses me in a pool of mixed feelings, like those inspired by the national anthem soon after the Vietnam War. Then, the song was used as a club in the culture war, which boiled down the complex issues surrounding the war into the...

By ALLEN WOODS

An online article for MacMillan dictionaries notes that many new words “enter and leave the language as the years go by, a direct reflection of the preoccupations of society in any particular era.” My reaction to the Dominion defamation suit against...

By ALLEN WOODS

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleepingI’m empty and aching and I don’t know whyCounting the cars on the New Jersey TurnpikeThey’ve all come to look for America“America,” Paul Simon, 1968The idea of “searching for America” began soon...

By ALLEN WOODS

The images are tragic for anyone with a bit of empathy: three women and three children, including a 1-year-old baby, die in a desperate attempt to flee a homeland filled with violence and instability. The country they had hoped to reach did not want...