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The Greece speech

Columns

Back in my college days (American University, Washington, D.C.), required reading included the works of Greek playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Long after graduation they remained on my bookshelf. It was believed for generations that these men, along with philosophers Plato, Cicero and other great minds, could teach us. At too many of today’s colleges and universities we find courses in LGBTQ+ history and, according to Campus Reform, a 2023 course at Harvard “aimed to teach students how to prepare for a diversity, equity, and inclusion-filled future.” Harvard is not ...

Woman experiences an extreme case of constipation

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a healthy, active 69-year-old female. I’ve had problems with constipation for several years, and it’s recently worsened. When I had my first colonoscopy, the doctor at the time, who’d been doing colonoscopies for 50 years, told me that I had the longest colon he’d ever seen. When I had my second (and most recent) colonoscopy, which was postponed for two days because I needed a stronger laxative to clear my colon, he told me my colon was so convoluted that I probably shouldn’t have another colonoscopy. Over the past few months, I have gone for up to ...

Dear Annie: Can’t keep everyone happy for the holidays

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been married for six years, and every holiday now feels less like a celebration and more like a negotiation. My family lives about an hour away. My parents host a big Thanksgiving and Christmas every year with my siblings, nieces, nephews and all the traditions I grew up with. My mother starts planning weeks in advance, and she takes it very personally if we are not there. She will say things like, “It just does not feel like Christmas without everyone together,” which makes me feel guilty before we have even made a decision. My husband’s ...

Let them eat cake — and candy, too

Columns

I fell into a net loop watching old commercials the other day, reminiscing with videos of escapist Calgon bubble baths, roving dog food chuck wagons and smiling folks settling into bed with “The Clapper.” At one point, I stumbled on an ad more anachronistic than any of its contemporaries: a commercial for Kool-Aid. Kids playing hard — dribbling basketballs, roller skating and swimming — needed something icy cold to drink. In burst the Kool-Aid Man to save the day, breaking down the walls between thirst and refreshment. It’s a commercial ostensibly for kids, but ...

A croaky voice and mucus might signify a type of acid reflux

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: Can you give me information about laryngopharyngeal reflux? I develop a croaky voice at times and have lots of mucus in the morning (which doesn’t get coughed up), among other things. Is diet alone enough to remedy the problem? I’m going in for a vocal cord vibration test. — M.M. ANSWER: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is when the acid in the stomach doesn’t stay where it belongs and goes backward into the esophagus. There’s a structure called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that’s supposed to keep the acid in the stomach, but sometimes it ...

The beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?

Columns

I’m allowing myself to believe that sane people may be in charge of Congress starting next Jan. 20. I know, I know: Polls have gotten our hopes up before only to have them dashed on the rocky shores of political reality. But this time it does seem as if congressional Republicans will finally get their comeuppance for their blind loyalty to Trump. The sense of relief in the land is palpable. We may soon witness the beginning of the end of this daymare — unless Trump goes full-throttled dictator and prevents votes for Democrats in the Senate and House from being ...