Damon G LaBarbera

The novel  Eyeless in Gaza Damon LaBarbera Eyeless in Gaza  was written by the English scribe Aldous Huxley in 1936 and describes, in achronological chapters, the interacting lives of a privileged cohort over decades. Although it may not be Huxley's best-known book and is somewhat obscure nowadays, I very much value the book.  Some readers opine, and I am inclined to agree, that this book is equal to  or superior to his more famous books, including  Brave New World or Doors of Perception.   Eyeless in Gaza is  written in that style which Huxley so masters--detachedly humorous, perceptive, and funny--and, strangely enough, spiritual. The prose gives us entry to the inner monologue, sometimes wickedly depicted, of his protagonists (assuming a book can have more than one protagonist).  The characters are finely tuned, struggling with ethical issues and living the extraordinarily free and thoughtful lives of well-to-do intellectuals of that day. T his...

  10-08-2023 Keeping up with Panama City events, as I do while living elsewhere, I learned that a retired psychiatrist in Panama City, Florida, recently died, and I was sorry to hear it. I was an intimate part of the mental health community in Panama City from the mid-eighties to 2020. Dr. Zumarraga was kindly, competent, well organized, and sturdy in disposition and personality, and a stalwart in that community. He helped me along with my career and referred hundreds of clients for therapy or psychological testing over the years. He seemed to take a personal interest as well and truly had the Rogerian quality of genuineness. He looked a bit like the actor Desi Arnaz. He raised a happy and successful brood of children, had a loving and pretty wife, had a very well-run and ethical practice, knew his medications very well, had a great understanding of general medicine, and attained wealth, with a home with a great lush garden he manicured himself. What else could you ask for in a l...