Remembering Hugo
September 4, 2009Long before the epic disaster that was Katrina, before the destruction of Wilma and the surprise of Andrew, Hurricane Hugo ushered in the modern era of powerful storms striking intensely developed coastlines, 20 years ago this month. About once every generation a storm comes along that reminds Americans how vulnerable our shores can be. The nation’s worst natural disaster was the hurricane that destroyed Galveston, Texas, in 1900, killing at …
You Said You Were Sending Money
September 3, 2009The friendly Sears dealer promised a $75 rebate on our new washer and dryer. Since I hate filling out paperwork, she obligingly offered to do it for me, and a few weeks later an envelope arrived in the mail. But when I opened it up, expecting to find my rebate check, I found a prepaid debit card instead. I immediately flashed back to the last time this happened. It was …
Getting Dinged For Dings
September 2, 2009When you rent an apartment, you know you will lose some of your security deposit if you punch holes into the walls. No landlord, however, is likely to dock you for some scuffs on the floor. The same is true with rental cars, but Hertz is trying to change that. When you return a car, Hertz employees walk around to check if there is any obvious damage, and, if there …
Coexisting With Evil
September 1, 2009On a morning much like this one, exactly 70 years ago, the world’s attempt to coexist with evil went up in smoke when Adolf Hitler’s Panzer tanks and Stuka dive-bombers attacked Poland. There had been many opportunities to stop the Fuhrer earlier. The Allies could have intervened militarily as he breached many of the major provisions of the Versailles treaty that had ended the Great War. But Europe had no …
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