by Wayne Fowler | May 19, 2024 | NGN
If one of my sons died as a soldier, I would ask the question on the heart of every Gold Star Family. For what exactly did my son die? For his country? And what exactly is the U.S.A., given it’s not a continent or ethnic group? America is an idea. The founders...
by Wayne Fowler | May 12, 2024 | NGN
I had visions of bright lights, a smoothly running stove bolt motor, and a responsive instrument cluster. But I was holding a rat’s nest snarl of old spliced wires, sketchy terminals, and rusty switches I had just pulled from the dash of my 1959 Chevrolet Apache. My...
by Wayne Fowler | May 5, 2024 | NGN
“We have found a way to be OK,” she told me. Being mom to more than the average two children per family is challenging enough. But when doctors diagnosed one of hers with a lifestyle-disrupting, chronic illness, the urgency of the moment was overwhelming. I was...
by Wayne Fowler | Apr 28, 2024 | NGN
Toward the end of the film, “Barbie” (2023), Billie Eilish gives voice to the title character with “What Was I Made For?” which became a hit song. This is far more than the familiar plot of a toy wanting to be real. It is an example of culture expressing and framing...
by Wayne Fowler | Apr 21, 2024 | NGN
In 1940, the newly opened Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the third-longest suspension bridge in the world. It was a beautiful engineering feat, until it wasn’t. One windy day, it began to twist and heave until it collapsed into a scrap heap of metal beams and cables. The...
by Wayne Fowler | Apr 14, 2024 | NGN
Chris Coghlan was 15 when it happened. It was 2001. He had just finished exams for his sophomore year. He arrived home to a gathering of cars and people. He stepped inside, joking about a party in his honor. Then he saw his mom’s face. His dad had been killed in a...
