Mike Pilewski writes about life, politics and culture in the United States
Suppose you have a persistent admirer. It doesn’t matter that you live in a different city. Nor does the fact that you don’t know her. She finds out where you live, which university you’re going to and which courses you’re taking, then signs up for the same ones. She travels across the country to live near you. She is driven … >>
If you’re ever in Pagosa Springs or Creede, Colorado, go to a Mexican restaurant named Kip’s Grill and order the most expensive thing on the menu. Then tell them that Mr. Pilewski sent you. The specialty of the house, number 9 on the menu, is called The Pilewski. It’s three flour tortillas, stuffed with pork barbacoa, provolone cheese and chipotle, … >>
The tiny African country of Sierra Leone recently did something that even the United States hasn’t been able to do. It stopped using the traditional English system of measurements. While the Leoneans enjoy the convenience of the metric system, Americans continue to toil with inches, feet, yards, miles, ounces, pounds, gallons, acres, barrels and bushels. “I’ve been living here for … >>
Yesterday, April 21, was the 100th anniversary of the death of Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The author from Missouri was better known by his pseudonym, Mark Twain. How do you describe such a well-traveled and versatile individual? The sum total of his life was much greater than the individual things he did. He was a steamboat pilot, a businessman, a newspaper … >>
It was the darkest time in our nation’s history: four years of brother fighting brother. The Civil War started and ended in the month of April — in 1861 and 1865. So it’s only natural to remember this during April, right? That’s what Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said last week when he declared each April to be Confederate History Month. … >>
It was the right thing to do: when the earthquake hit Haiti last week, Barack Obama promptly sent over $100 million in aid. It was easy to do, because the money was already available. The US had given Haiti three times that amount last year, out of a sense of charity. Haiti is like that family member that no one … >>
He was only trying to be nice. He wanted to use his language skills. And if he didn’t help them, they would surely die. He was a Native American named Squanto. “They” were the Pilgrims, who’d arrived in Massachusetts in November 1620. Both are examples of the unlikely nature of the American story. The Pilgrims (known in England as the … >>
Ask any American to name a cultural event in Germany, and you’ll get a quick answer: Oktoberfest. If five to seven million people are going somewhere to drink beer, word’ll get around. But this has, I think, a lot to do with the fact that America itself is a beer-drinking country. Sure, fine wines are produced along the West Coast … >>
It’s sobering to realize that eight years have passed since New York and Washington, DC, were attacked on September 11, 2001. Something that happened that long ago, and is already the subject of numerous documentaries, is history. The more time passes, the more the official version of events is accepted, and the less plausible any alternative version becomes. This fact … >>
Going to a gym has many obvious benefits, but also some that are not obvious. For example, at my gym you can watch six television screens, each showing a different channel, at the same time. It’s something I can’t do at home. So there I was the other night, dividing my attention between news reports about Iran and my favorite … >>