What is a gentleman? Perhaps someone well-dressed, well-behaved, and even well-bred, whatever that means. Maybe someone who takes care of others, is always polite and of service? A few years ago, I had the honor of serving as president of a gentleman’s club in Shanghai. No, not that kind of…

How it ruins our elementary school kids — I hate homework. Well, not personally, as it never really bothered me back in my American junior high and high school. Today we see it in earlier and earlier grades. Here in Shanghai, it starts from grade one, at age six. An hour a day, usually more. Of detestable homework…

Why can’t we have this in the USA? — I saw four doctors today in Shanghai. Not because I’m sick, but as I’m leaving China to move back to the USA next month, I needed a couple annual exams, a few follow-ups, and to get final advice and prescriptions for a variety of things. …

Ode to Johnny Cash’s 50-year-old song of the downtrodden — I grew up listening to country music, including the great Johnny Cash. He’s of course the country music pioneer well-chronicled in the excellent movie, Walk the Line, and he passed away in 2003. As a long-time fan, I thought I knew all his songs, but some years ago I discovered…

More alike than different & history all the same — I’m from Maine, a pretty libertarian and freedom-oriented place. And while Maine is sadly still the whitest state in the union, we usually don’t care who our neighbors are, as long as they (and the government) don’t bother us. They could be blue and from Mars for all we care…

More alike than different & history all the same — I’m from Maine, a pretty libertarian and freedom-oriented place. And while Maine is sadly still the whitest state in the union, we usually don’t care who our neighbors are, as long as they (and the government) don’t bother us. They could be blue and from Mars for all we care…

Shanghai scooter & bike safety — Helmets are for other people, at least here in Shanghai, and more broadly across China. Few, if any, scooter drivers or bikers wear them. Thus, you would think they are just not necessary, or perhaps drivers are unaware of them. In an effort to further reduce safety while zooming through…

End Menstruation Stigma & Period Poverty — Let’s talk about periods. The female kind. As a strong supporter of women and girls, I’m a big believer in removing the stigma of women’s periods, which hurts them in so many ways. After all, half the world’s population has to deal with them a dozen times a year, for…

A Kazak / Korean Barmaid & Medical Student in Shanghai — Here in a Shanghai beer bar a barmaid is pouring a dozen countries’ brews. She’s in China, but she’s from Kazakhstan. She looks Asian, but her native tongue is Russian. I chat with her in Chinese, but her English is much better and her accent American. She wouldn’t stand out…