John Train's The Broadside

Billy is about to receive a large inheritance, but he isn’t good with money. A trust can help, as explained in this 1990 column.

Last September Francie and I cruised the length of the Norwegian coast, starting down from the top. Half of that trip is north of the Arctic Circle, including Hammerfest, where I joined The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society.

The correct attitude for a victor who wants to avoid a repetition of a war is to abandon any thought of revenge, however monstrous have been the acts of the defeated.

The British like to shrink words and let the pronunciation drift around a bit. The metamorphoses are unpredictable: you just have to know. Can you say Abergavenny?

My cantine has books in the window whose authors are also customers. The patronne is likely to pull up to your table and chat, and likes to introduce regulars to each other.

Ukraine should be vigorously taking defensive measures while it asks for help. The Russian bear is at the door, and it’s hungry.

Since things change so violently, one must take many predictions with a grain of salt. Stay loose!

Doctors insert tubes–catheters–into patients’ veins about 5 million times a year, sometimes with lethal results. A simple checklist has caused the infection rate to plunge.

Objective conditions have improved in recent decades. Life expectancy is up, poverty and crime are down, the rule of law is spreading, and life is getting better in other ways.

The (London) Times Literary Supplement likes to hold up gobbledygook for contempt. Here are some examples.

As we contemplate the approaching consistory to elect a successor to Benedict XVI, it is consoling to read about the one that elected Celestine IV in the thirteenth century as Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick, besieged Rome. Abusive guards herded ten Cardinals into a dilapidated room, without proper food or doctors.