As someone who writes for fun, I have a large collection of essays, some of which appear in the following pages.  Most were published in the corporate newsletter of the company from which I retired in 2002.  My only muse was Whim, so I covered a variety of topics.  Some essays have been slightly revised here to be more appropriate for a diverse audience.  Any typos have been introduced in this editing process. Janet Swartz, the editor of the newsletter and my colleague for more than twenty years, used to pounce with glee on any typographical error I made – and I made quite a few.

	An Open Letter to My Grandson The title is self-explanatory.  These are the words of wisdom that I wish to pass on to my grandchildren. If they strike some readers as cliches, they may well be cliches because they are true.
	The Electronic Tower of Babel A light-hearted look at e-mail in the office.
	Gobbledygook Begone! Some remarks directed to those people who are afflicted with verbal megalomania.
	Looking Toward the Millennium Written in 1996, this essay tried to explain that the new millennium would begin on Jan. 1, 2001, and not on Jan. 1, 2000, as everyone was saying as the turn of the century approached.  Nobody paid any attention to me.
	In Praise of March Music Of my lighter essays, this is one of my favorites.  Although it began as an explanation of how a gifted and dedicated band director in high school inspired my lifelong love of serious music, it turned out to be a little listeners' guide to the march as a musical genre.
	Why Johnny Can't Think A brief discourse prompted by the observation that students' poor writing is as much a reflection of faulty thinking as it is of poor writing skills.
	Just How (Il)literate Are They? A very small sample of sentences from student papers (in 1992).  You may chuckle, but you should be shocked, saddened, and scared.

Above:  A panoramic view of Capetown, the author's birthplace
At top of page:  The Cape Peninsula viewed from the other direction, facing West