Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
FEBRUARY 15, 2026 – My wife has a much more detailed memory of our sons’ childhood than I do, probably because she attended to far more of the details of parenting than I did. This is not to say I don’t have vivid memories of those years or that I didn’t enjoy parenting, however deficient …
FEBRUARY 7, 2026 – Yesterday evening we opted for take-out from Dino’s Gyros, the local Greek fast-food joint. I ordered the grilled chicken plate with sides of falafel and tabouli salad. Among the “sauce” selections, I chose tzatziki—I’m sure I did—but when I got home and pulled everything out of the bag inside the bag …
DECEMBER 29, 2025 – As we close in on the end of the year, Mother Nature reminds us that she is still very much in control. Witness yesterday’s weather—a veritable blizzard that interfered with countless post-holiday travel plans. I was ever so grateful that I’d dashed to and back from the Red Cabin the day …
DECEMBER 12, 2025 – Life lately has been a blur of images—as is often the case during a period featured by the absence of “dull moments.” But when you feel the train wheels bouncing off the tracks, you stay with the train. You trust that gravity, die Bahn, der Zug, and a pinch of good …
DECEMBER 11, 2025 – (Cont.) If you read yesterday’s post, you know what happened and the tragedy that didn’t happen—all because of a Christmas tree stand stored in the attic above the garage. Aware of the circumstances plying our household this season, the reader surely understands my reticence—strike that; fear—about venturing up into that forbidding …
DECEMBER 10, 2025 – Hug your loved ones—hug them tight and tell them you love them. Cherish your friends, and be generous with empathy. Embrace everything in life, even when it’s difficult. Over the past 36 hours, I’ve learned that L.I.F.E. is (among other things) an acronym for “Love,” “Irony,” “Friends,” and “Empathy.” I’ve also …
NOVEMBER 29, 2025 – Late this morning all members of our household visited our son and daughter-in-law’s Francophone friends, Flo and Luke, up in West Hartford. In preparation for the trip, Mylène packed a bag of trucks from Diogo’s collection to keep him occupied while the grown-ups visited. I’m a “truck man” myself, so for …
NOVEMBER 28, 2025 – In brief residence in the home of our two-year-old grandson, I’m impressed by the library of children’s books that surround him. More to the point, I’m envious: half the books are in French and half are in English, which reflects his bilingual language development. The kid’s parents, as well has his …
NOVEMBER 26, 2025 – Weeks in advance we’d been informed that Tuesday would be “Grandparents Day” at our two-year-old grandson’s school. I envisioned joining a cast of thousands for a royal tour, a review of recent art projects, and a full raft of presentations and demonstrations greeted by a robust round of applause, followed by …
NOVEMBER 25, 2025 – As we settle in for Thanksgiving week at our son/daughter-in-law’s home, I’m reminded how household stuff accumulates—yard and garden tools and machinery in the garage; furniture and furnishings in every room; toys galore—big, small, and everything in between—in the “bonus room”-turned-toddler’s dreamland of toys; closets—don’t open the doors or you won’t …
NOVEMBER 7, 2025 – Just when I was searching for a topic for today’s post, one was handed to me on a proverbial silver platter, nicely polished, served by a butler in full livery. The delicacy on the platter can be best described by way of a simple mini-play with the working title, Actually Ashley. …
OCTOBER 28, 2025 – Thankfully, I’m not an alcoholic, but I’ve known people who are, and from what little I’ve learned about their struggles, I’ve heard it said that “once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic”; that at every AA meeting, participants in recovery announce themselves by name, followed by the phrase, “and I’m an alcoholic.” …
OCTOBER 19, 2025 – (Cont.) I’m sure I could’ve coaxed some meaningful cash out of Timothy in exchange for what was a work of shop art. In the moment, however, I decided to let him have it, gratis. In the first place, no one in the family would ever use the bulky machine, and eventually, …
OCTOBER 18, 2025 – Blogger’s note: The third and final installment of the series, “Seeing the Past in the Present” will be posted tomorrow. I’ve heard it said that we live in news and information silos in which we’re fed a steady diet of our own unwavering opinions; that we need to step out of …
OCTOBER 17, 2025 – (Cont.) At exactly the appointed time, an older burgundy RAM-Tough pick-up pulling a small trailer pulled up to the cabin. Out stepped a couple of guys from the reservation. The driver introduced himself as “Timothy,” with whom I’d spoken twice by phone to make arrangements. His handshake exuded confidence and character. …
OCTOBER 16, 2025 – Today the past was the present. By way of background, late this morning I drove up to the Red Cabin/Björnholm to meet a prospective buyer of miscellaneous old equipment that has been parked/stored at Björnholm for years beyond accurate count by anyone in the family. My brother-in-law Chuck had tentatively sold …
OCTOBER 8, 2025 – Back in the day I used darts, not dice, to decide when to take the boat(s) out of the lake at the end of the season. Beginning in mid-September I’d simply keep my eye on the weekend weather forecast and a few days in advance of a Saturday or Sunday with …
OCTOBER 7, 2025 – Over the years I’ve met numerous interesting people who live along my walking route to and from “Little Switzerland.”[1] With some of these folks I’ve enjoyed extensive conversations about a host of subjects. One standout is a fellow, Phillip, eight years my senior, whose house is on the “Matterhorn” overlooking the …
OCTOBER 6, 2025 – Today in accordance with our Monday routine, our fourth grader granddaughter came to our house after school for her weekly online (Zoom) drawing class, followed by a simple supper before her dad picked her up on his way home from work. She’s always such delightful company. As we enjoyed our meal …
SEPTEMBER 13, 2025 – My wife was in a funk today, mostly over the state of the country. She’d been in funksville—as many of us were—even before the shooting(s), but gun violence in America is a chronic condition for which an antidote eludes us. I managed to escape funksville today, thanks to some random encounters …
SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 – This morning I glanced at the usual news from crazy town and immediately deflected it by resuming work on my latest in-town construction project: a giant mobile easel for our oldest son’s vehicular window tinting business. He hopes to resume the enterprise after a long hiatus due to health concerns. He …
AUGUST 1, 2025 – Today I found amusement by being in two worlds at once on my way to the woods. Let me explain . . . Last week I’d arranged to meet with a Wisconsin DNR forester for an extended site visit of Björnholm, or at least a portion of it, to gain some …
JULY 30, 2025 – The time was exactly 5:00. I’d already been on the road for close to an hour, foiled by three long construction-related slowdowns on my way to a 5:00 dental cleaning appointment with Michelle, my über-hygienist at Boger Dental on the far side of town. The trip normally takes half an hour. …
JULY 9, 2025 – A few days ago our clothes dryer quit drying. The machine was old enough that it didn’t owe us much, but before we leaped at the chance to replace it with a costly new machine, my spouse did the sensible thing and arranged for a $99 service call to obtain a …
JULY 3, 2025 – (Cont.) On the next-to-last day of our annual June visit to Connecticut, we adopted a turtle’s pace, in large part because of the extreme heat, but also because the day was given over to our young grandchildren. They were perfectly content at the local small municipal swimming beach; no long drive …