Monthly Archives: September 2014

Hanging on to the N-word

Twenty-five years after Spike Lee burned down Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, his people are still trying to do the right thing. Some of them don’t have a clue. Take LaRue Bell, a black senior at Cajon High School in San Bernardino, Calif. Earlier this month he said that when he arrived in math class, he asked […]

The Luxury of Some Americans

A few times in my life I’ve had to kill a black widow spider. Normally I have a live-and-let-live attitude with spiders. They’re interesting creatures. But the bite of a black widow can cause illness and, occasionally, even death. Killing a black widow is nothing to celebrate. Kill it, clean it up, and make sure […]