Betrayal Through the years as a therapist, I’ve conducted numerous counseling sessions with couples, some married, some not. I observed that being a geographical bachelor, during deployments or being transferred to duty stations where family members were not allowed, or extending training exercises, or temporary duty assignments, always put a strain on relationships. In the words of Kristin Hannah in “The Nightingale”: “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love...

While in New York City, I went into a jewelry store in lower Manhattan. I was browsing and put my hand on the glass display case. The clerk promptly yelled, “Get your hand off the glass, I just cleaned it!” I gave him the side eye and casually walked out. While in Los Angeles at Westfield Mall, I was shopping for tennis shoes, the man behind the counter said nothing. Strange, since I was the only person in the store. When I asked for assistance, he said the salesperson was in the bathroom. In...

A meaningful life is not measured in years, but in how consciously time is lived. Newton described time as absolute, meaning it exists whether anything happens or not. Time in psychology is not just something that passes, it’s something we participate in. Science asks what time is in the structure of reality? In my previous role as program director for in-patient care at Yokosuka Naval Hospital in Japan, making health and safety checks on SOFA military prisoners detained at a nearby prison...