When my father took me to play golf for my 10th birthday at some nine-hole course in the middle of an Indiana cornfield, I looked at him after the round and said, "That was the best day of my life." Growing up in the basketball-obsessed state of Indiana, I learned early on I'd have to denounce that religion; it's tough to make the team when puberty waits until your junior summer to deem you fit for transformation. But through the awkwardness of my pip-squeak existence, I always had golf, a...

Upward mobility is the name of the game in Washington, DC. Michele Dunne played the game, eventually reaching the peak of her career. From the State Department to the US Embassy in Cairo, then to the National Security Council as director for Egypt and North Africa, Dunne had become a premier voice and diplomat for policymaking in the Middle East. She sought to stay true to herself and her values, even in the cutthroat, power-hungry milieu of Washington... Read the remainder of this feature in...

My 3-year-old son wakes up each day in a world of magic and potential. He’ll empty decks of cards and place them under his wooden train tracks, which he surrounds with cups and bowls. The point? I have no idea. But in his mind perhaps he’s constructed an intricate subway system through a bustling metropolis. He’ll grab his golf putter and drag stools, chairs, weights, books, toys, anything that stirs his imagination into the living room... This column was published in the September 2025 issue...