A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday. 

Exhibit: The Great Elephant Migration. This is a temporary public art display on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall from Dartmouth to Fairfield Streets in Boston. It depicts 100 life sized elephants sculpted in India from plant materials. The exhibit is free but will only be there until this Saturday, September 12. Each sculpture is based on a living elephant so you have big bulls and matriarchs and smaller adolescents and babies. Here’s how the exhibit website explains its purpose: “The herd is here to share their story of coexistence; that there is room for all of us on this planet. We hope this exhibition reminds us of the awe we feel when in the company of wild, free animals and inspires us to better share our world with them.” I visited the display last Sunday morning and especially enjoyed being among a very diverse crowd of people wandering amongst the elephants, taking selfies, gazing at the individual sculptures and how they interacted with each other as part of the herd. 

Obituary: “Dolly Parton, Superstar Whose Songs Spoke to Millions, Dies at 80.” By Bill Friskics-Warren, New York Times, August 25, 2026. For as long as I can remember, anytime I heard Dolly Parton sing, watched her on TV or in a movie, or read about her in a newspaper or magazine, I got a good feeling. From the outpouring of positive comments from across the American spectrum, it seems that most people had the same response. I especially respected her philanthropy, particularly her “Imagination Library” which has provided something like 200 million books to children in an effort to develop the habit of reading. I also appreciated her help finding a Covid-19 vaccine including being one of the first to get jabbed while in a very public venue to set the example that all should receive it. People in public life, whether they be athletes, performers or politicians, would be advised to study how she interacted with others and how she handled potentially divisive issues in a way that always showed respect and compassion. 

Article: “Study Links Brain Disease to at Least 1 in 4 in NFL” by John Branch in New York Times, August 26, 2026. The phrase “at least” is doing a lot of work here. Between 2016 and 2021, 878 former NFL players died. Researchers examined the brains of 235 of them for evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (better known as CTE), a condition only detectable after death. Of the 235 brains examined, 215 of them had CTE. Perhaps a better headline would be that 94.5 percent of the brains of deceased former NFL players that were examined had CTE. But the way the Times frames it is accurate, even though many of the brains that were not examined might also have CTE. The great American novelist Upton Sinclair once wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” It seems abundantly clear that playing tackle football causes this debilitating and life-shortening brain injury in many players, yet because of the great fortune involved in pro football, partly for the players but mostly going to the billionaire owners and the billionaire-owned media companies that televise the games, no one will seriously contemplate not playing football, which is a tragedy. One mystery is why do some former players get CTE while others, who had plenty of hits to the head, do not. Researchers theorize that there is some gene that protects people who have it from this condition. If that gene can ever be identified – which it hasn’t been yet – perhaps a screening test could permit only those not susceptible to CTE to continue to play. But that would likely cut into the profits so it’s unlikely to happen. 

Article: “A Fragile Treasure Endures a Sojourn” by Alex Marshall, New York Times, August 23, 2026. This article is about the Bayeux Tapestry, a 900 year old, 220 foot long stretch of fabric that depicts the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066. Throughout that time it has resided in the town of Bayeux, France, which is on the Normandy Peninsula, just 15 miles from Omaha Beach. Despite repeated requests from Britain to display it temporarily in that country, the French government and the tapestry’s custodians never relented – until this year. Now, from September 11, 2026, through July 11, 2027, the tapestry will be displayed in the British Museum in London. If you want to go, be advised that tickets are sold out through the end of this year. I had the good fortune to see the tapestry in Bayeux in 2004 on a family trip to Normandy. The exterior of the building that housed it was unremarkable, and the interior was quite dark to help preserve the fabric and its colors. The tapestry was stretched on the wall along three sides of the building behind protective glass. It’s like a graphic novel that ends with the Anglo-Saxon king of Britain dying from an arrow through the eye, and William the Conqueror, a Norman from Normandy, becoming the new king. The Battle of Hastings is one of a handful of iconic events that mark Britain’s national character so getting the thing to England is a big deal. Why did the French relent? Curators, who opposed the move because of the potential damage, give blame or credit to President Emmanuel Macron with a big boost from King Charles and the British government which has insured the piece for $1 billion.