The First Person with Michael Judge

By Michael Judge Nearly two decades ago, I wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal titled, “Iowa’s Job Thieves.” The title was an attempt at irony by my editor at the Journal, who, along with the editorial board, was fervently pro-immigration.

By Michael Judge Tokyo — In a country known for tradition, my family has one I hope we can hang on to for at least a few more years. Every summer, while visiting my wife’s parents, my son goes for a walk after dinner with his now 83-year-old grandfather. Every year the walks get shorter and shorter, but more meaningful, as if they both understand that this is one tradition, like the walk itself, that isn’t meant to last. My son is a beautifully awkward 13.

It’s hard to believe my friend Dr. Charles Read has been gone for nearly a decade. I first met him at my wife’s restaurant where he spent nearly every Sunday with his wife, the artist Chunghi Choo, enjoying a leisurely brunch. But he also came on his own some nights, already deep into his 90s, drank wine, nibbled a bit, and flirted with the young and not-so-young waitresses and staff. His smile was contagious, his charm unequaled, and his intelligence equaled only by his compassion.

By Michael Judge I’d been meaning to reach out to Maria Romanenko, the former editor-in-chief of the English-language department of Hromadske, an independent Ukrainian news organization, for months before we finally spoke. Just 33 years old, Romanenko’s seen more of the good and evil in this world than most folks twice her age.

“Adobe Church,” oil painting by Cordelia Wilson (1873–1953). Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published Intent Intent is of no consequence. Placed strategically or not, the word is there, like a hungry child’s swollen ankle after twisting in loose gravel, or small palms torn open to taste the sacrament outside the clay church wall. My friend, my enemy, my hungry child, my back is turned. Share TFP IS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE IOWA WRITERS COLLABORATIVE

By Michael Judge It seems an eternity,but we’re just now nearing the two-year anniversary of the cowardly Russian missile strike that killed the gifted writer and TFP friend Victoria Amelina. The Ukrainian poet, novelist, essayist, and documenter of Russian war crimes was mortally wounded on June 27, 2023, in an attack on a civilian target—a popular family restaurant—in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.

By Michael Judge Doctor, my eyes Tell me what is wrong Was I unwise To leave them open for so long? — Jackson Browne IOWA CITY, Iowa — I first met Art Cullen, the Pulitzer Prize winning writer of Art Cullen’s Notebook, at a funeral for a friend’s father back in 2017. The father, Jim Benson—just like his son Lucas—was a kind man from Marathon, Iowa. Jim was a farmer, savvy businessman, and, in Art’s words “the smartest man I ever met.” Art gave the eulogy.

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With his decision to exit the 2024 presidential race and endorse Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden has proven once again that—to paraphrase a favorite Shakespeare line—he grew wise long before he grew old. One of the longest serving statesmen to occupy the Oval Office, Joseph R. Biden Jr. served 36 years as a U.S. senator from Delaware and eight years as vice president before defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

It seems an eternity, but today marks the one-year anniversary of the cowardly Russian missile attack that killed the gifted writer and TFP friend Victoria Amelina. The Ukrainian poet, novelist, essayist, and documenter of Russian war crimes was mortally wounded on June 27, 2023, in an attack on a civilian target—a popular family restaurant—in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The mother of a young son, Victoria hung on for five days before finally succumbing to her injuries on July 1. She was 37.