Truthiness – Word of the Year!

The American Dialect Society creates a word that best reflects the uniqueness of each year. TRUTHINESS is the winner for 2005 – defined as:  "the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than facts." (USA Today,...

Diagnosing at the Mall

While his wife shopped at the mall, an endocrinologist sat in a coffee shop gazing at the passersby. He "diagnosed" shoppers with an intelligent guess. No history. No physical exam. No laboratory tests. Just a moment's gaze at a limp or a distinguishing...

The Power of Presence

Alone in the woods! Darkness enveloped me, in spite of the camp fire. Escalating fear gripped my heart as unfamiliar noises rose from unseen places. As a young boy participating in an initiation rite at a YMCA camp, I was petrified. My assignment – to stay awake...