Showing results by author "Patricia Beard" in All Categories

The internationally famous bandleader Peter Duchin's six decades of performing have taken him to the most exclusive dance floors and concert halls in the world. He has played for presidents, kings, and queens, as well as for civil rights and cultural organizations. But in 2013, Duchin suffered a stroke that left him with limited use of his left hand, severely impacting his career. Days of recuperating from his stroke - and later from a critical case of Covid-19 - inspired Duchin to reconsider his complicated past.

For a culture careening from right to left in search of societal values, Patricia Beard offers the moral lessons learned by former New Jersey governor and head of the EPA Christine Todd Whitman during her formative years. "Family came first. Then came the farm....Then the community: other farmers and neighbors around Oldwick....The way my family, and many others, practiced politics grew out of this sense of interdependence," Whitman explains.