I was born in Long Beach. Lived on the east side of it for most of 25 years. Yet even I have a sort of default setting inside my head that says “dangerous, rundown” when thinking about the city. I like Long Beach, but it would be Compton (as in, “straight out of”) if it […]

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I like to think I am good with geography. I have studied maps and globes since childhood. For fun. At this moment, I own three globes, here in Abu Dhabi, two of them about five inches wide, the third about 10. One of the little ones, which is quite nice despite its size, sits on […]

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In the past century, I would say three moments in American history warrant “where were you when it happened” questions and recollections. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. “A date which will live in infamy.” The terror attacks of September 11, 2001. And the third, about one-third of the way between those […]

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On Monday, my daughter decided to get married on Friday. Today, that is. Four days after she and her fiance decided to go ahead with the ceremony. How did it turn out? Remarkably well. Really well. It became a sort of social “barn-raising” — with help and effort coming from a variety of sources, mostly […]

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A few years in Abu Dhabi might lead a person to believe homelessness is not a significant problem around the world. In the UAE, everyone has a job … or they are headed for the airport. It’s the law. Which can lead to some jarring sensations, when you leave the UAE and touch down almost […]

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Long Beach is one of those cities that Does Stuff for Free. Puts on clinics and runs things for kids in the summer and shows campy movies in parks. I imagine some of it has gone away, or acquired a price tag, since the Great Recession began in 2008. One of the most charming of […]

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We are spending a week in a beach house in Long Beach. The California version of the LBC. And it does, in fact, have a long beach, and the sand begins at our door, and the ocean, tamed by a breakwater, begins about 100 yards from there … And the very popular biking/jogging/rolling path is […]

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Burgers are not in short supply in the UAE. McDonald’s seems to have franchises in every second Abu Dhabi gas station, and many hotel restaurants offer them, too. A burger shop has recently opened in the lobby of the building in which we live. (Which reminds me; burgers are always beef burgers, in the Gulf, […]

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So, back in the U.S. with a chance to peruse what is left of American daily print journalism. It is a melancholy activity, indeed. Measured against the sweep of history, the nosedive of U.S. print was an accelerated affair. A decade ago, American newspapers were still making a lot of money and, collectively, were probably […]

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I have always liked the notion of a 24-hour race. Le Mans, of course. And here in the UAE, we have the 24 Hours of Dubai. The annual UAE event began today and finishes tomorrow, and we talked in the office about when the toughest part to drive for 24 hours might be … and […]

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