From the Heart

By Alan Cohen – I was honored to meet Morten Lauridsen, a genius musician considered by many to be the world’s greatest living composer
of choral music. He is widely respected for his stirring opus,
“Lux Aeterna” (“Eternal Light”). Morten told me that one of
his dear friends, a conductor who often conducts …

by Alan Cohen – In high school, I looked up to my classmate Rick Brown, the quintessential cool guy. He was the good-looking captain of the football team and president of the student council. He had a cheerleader homecoming queen girlfriend and was liked by everyone. I envied Rick because …

By Alan Cohen – It was one of those days when the world was supposed to come to an end. The planets had achieved the crucial alignment, the ancient prophecies were being fulfilled and psychics confirmed this would be the turning point. Hordes of people were rushing to safety at …

By Alan Cohen – While checking out at a grocery store I noticed that a cashier had an unusual tattoo on her forearm. “What is that tattoo?” I asked Ciani. She smiled. “It’s a copy of the EKG of my grandmother’s last heartbeat.” Suddenly the checkout process faded into the …

by Alan Cohen – February is the month of Valentines, when our thoughts turn to love. Usually, we give Valentine’s gifts and affection to romantic partners. This month, I would like to shift our focus to expressions of love to our family, in particular, our parents. While reading Soul Friends: …

By Alan Cohen – Sitting backstage at a network television studio in a large metropolitan city, I waited to go on the air for an interview. My segment was scheduled right after the noon news broadcast, which began with a gory account of a murder, then a rape, then war …

By Alan Cohen I had a neighbor I saw as a nasty alcoholic. Brenda would regularly sit around the kitchen table with her husband, drink, and complain. I did not find any good in her. Then she and her husband took in a young man to live with them. Mark …

By Alan Cohen –   How much should you tell other people about what is really important to you? Should you broadcast your dreams to everyone in hopes that others will honor your intentions and support you? Or would you be wiser to keep your visions to yourself and avoid …

­­­ By Alan Cohen – I recently learned of the death of a musician I admire. Ruud was a trombonist in André Rieu’s orchestra. Besides being a talented musician he was something of a comic spark plug, performing clever antics in skits the orchestra wove into their performances. I enjoyed …

  By Alan Cohen –  While traveling in Europe to attend an André Rieu concert, my laptop wouldn’t boot. If you ever had this happen, you know it can be, well, disconcerting. I Googled computer repair technicians in the small Holland city where I was staying, and found two technicians …