APRIL 24, 2019 – My wife recently read me a FB political meme that went something like this: I get home from vacation and find my basement full of rabid raccoons. I call the city, I call several exterminators, but no one can or even wants to try to clean my basement of these awful …
PRESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
APRIL 23, 2019 – Yesterday, Seth Moulton announced that he too is running for president. I’d never heard of him either (he’s a second term Congressperson from Massachusetts). What gives? Do Democrats think they increase the odds of defeating Trump if they increase the number of people seeking to oppose him? What qualifies each of …
A LITTLE TIME, BIG SPEED AND A LOT OF DISTANCE
When you next fume about politics, give yourself some distance. If I’m in sitting in the living room reading the latest headlines or watching cable news, I get very steamed. But if I walk to the kitchen, let’s say, my anger drops. If the kitchen is low on snacks, my anger will drop some more: …
GOD STUFF
APRIL 21, 2019 – Easter: Christianity’s big day—denouement of the Betrayal, the Trial, and the Crucifixion. My deeply religious mother told me that Easter coincided with spring, longer daylight and the rebirth of life and hope, just as Christmas marked the appearance of light amidst great darkness and despair. As a smart ass, I replied, …
NATURE AS BASEBALL
APRIL 20, 2019 – I am at my family’s “retreat” by Grindstone Lake in northwest Wisconsin. Through woods to the west, the next dwelling is hidden from sight. To the east lies undisturbed family-owned acreage acquired by my grandparents in 1939, when dirt was dirt cheap, and on which they built a cozy cabin—at the …
“THE HELL IF I KNOW . . .”
APRIL 19, 2019 – I remember well the day. It was early in my career at the venerable law firm with roots nearly as old as St. Paul itself. I’d been assigned to the litigation department, where I was learning in the shadow of old masters and in the wake of young go-getters. Many of …
THE NUN WITH A GUN
APRIL 18, 2019 – A friend, Judy H., told a true story about a nun with a gun. No matter what your position is on gun control, you’ll agree that within the story lies an amusing lesson or two. Judy, a liberal Catholic, had a friend who was a nun in an order that promoted …
IT’S ABOUT TIME!
APRIL 17, 2019 – A minute is always a minute, one equal to the next. But to my three-and-a half year-old granddaughter, a minute seems to last as long as 18 last for me. And if you’ve got low lung capacity, a minute is eternity if you’re holding your breath, especially while deep under water. …
VIVE NOTRE-DAME! VIVE L’HUMANITÉ!
APRIL 16, 2019 – I’m not a Catholic. I’m not even religious. I don’t live in Paris—or even in France or Europe. But because I am part of humanity, yesterday’s devastating fire crushed my heart. I learned of the tragedy while I was standing in a checkout line at Target a few blocks from my …
CONAKRY
APRIL 15, 2019 – Every Wednesday I have lunch with my friend Steve, a veritable polymath and successful entrepreneur. After a quick meal, we saunter through the skyways of downtown Minneapolis, often stopping at a donut shop where Steve buys a load of high-fat dough smothered with sugar. Starting about two months ago our route …
OPENING LINES
APRIL 14, 2019 – On this site you will find accounts, musings, anecdotes, diatribes, observations, and pontifications by a reasonably aware, Boomer-age, white guy whose curiosity and other mental faculties are still largely intact. That guy is me, or rather, “I.” My hope is to draw and hold attention by limiting each entry to fewer …