Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
AUGUST 20, 2026 – (Cont.) A few miles north of Bayfield we entered the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indian Reservation. The first notable sight is the Legendary Waters Resort and Casino right on the shore of Lake Superior. Having hit the jackpot with the weather, however, we proceeded past this establishment several …
AUGUST 19, 2026 – Yesterday I joined the plan to take our visitors north to Bayfield, WI on the south shore of Lake Superior, a 90-minute drive from the Red Cabin. We left Grindstone Lake at 9:30 in the morning and returned 10 hours later after a magnificent outing. Among Twin Citians, Bayfield enjoys a …
AUGUST 18, 2026 – I know from experience that nothing in the Department of Boring beats someone announcing first thing in the morning that they had “the strangest dream last night”—then proceeding to recount it. The person might be excused if he uses fewer than 10 words, as in, “Last night I dreamt I was …
AUGUST 17, 2026 – Yesterday at midnight, after everyone else was sound asleep and Byron himself was about to head off to Nod, I said, “I’m going out to the dock to check out the stars.” “I’ll join you,” he said. I was glad he wanted to—without having to be invited. Together we strolled out …
AUGUST 16, 2026 – We tend to idealize about the past, complain about the present, and worry about the future. All too often I find myself in this three-way rut in life, though sometimes I scramble these, complaining about the past, idealizing about the future and worrying about the present. Take the family cabin experience, …
AUGUST 15, 2026 – Anyone who grew up with a family cabin or camp or cottage tradition knows the principal features—a lake, trees, a hammock, watercraft, swimming, fishing, s’mores, three family generations, sunsets, moonrises and star-gazing . . . and, of course, a cabin or cottage. Did I miss something? Oh, yeah. Wildlife. This morning …
AUGUST 14, 2026 – (Cont.) In a nutshell . . . my epiphany, as it were, was about the rightwing perception of America as a (formerly) wonderful place that has lost its way, thanks the tentacles of a Communist plot, and the counterbalancing leftwing view that America was never such a wonderful place, given our …
AUGUST 13, 2026 – You never know when an epiphanic moment is going to hit you. It could be while you’re out for a walk or on your drive to meet another couple for dinner. Or on the way home from the dinner, as you mull over a particularly compelling part of the conversation, especially …
AUGUST 12, 2026 – Yesterday I expressed an unsettled feeling about the midterm elections, prompted by NYT columnist Thomas Friedman’s suggestion that they’ll be “razor close.” Today, however, I’m feeling slightly more sanguine, thanks to a bit of anecdotal triangulation. First, a “most favored nation” business client of mine—(a client who’s smart and interesting, good …
AUGUST 11, 2026 – Not since my “Pergola-on-a-Platform” project last summer and fall have I been so intensely immersed in a whimsical endeavor as I am with the design and construction of my model sailboats. Today I added another two vessels to the collection, but what’s even more notable on the fleet-building front is that …
AUGUST 10, 2026 – I know that most people share my awe, fear, disbelief, and anxiety over the complex uncertainties of life in our era. Where is the country headed? What will happen come November? Will the Strait of Hormuz open before the global economy crashes? What’s with all the wildfires—are they a sign of …
AUGUST 9, 2026 – Recently I watched the 1959 film, On the Beach, directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins. The movie was based on the novel by the Australian-British writer, Nevil Shute. The story takes place in “the future”—1964—following explosion of a “cobalt bomb,” the equivalent …
AUGUST 8, 2026 – Now that a most felicitous “Happy Birthday” day is in the rear-view mirror, I can turn my swivel-head back to the road ahead, starting with the patch called out by a road sign shouting, “ROUGH ROAD.” The black-on-orange words are a harbinger of trouble on our nation’s political pathway. Ironically, the …
AUGUST 7, 2026 – I know that sounds strange—wishing oneself a “Happy Birthday!”—but for me, another annual notch in the belt of life marks more than a crowd of family and friends gathered round, singing the familiar song (ideally all in the same key and in tune), then watching with delight as I inhale, then …
AUGUST 6, 2026 – Today marks my last day as a 71-year-old. Reciting such a banal fact allows me to join the dull chorus of Boomers who, in conjunction with citing their age, just can’t resist saying, “I can’t believe I’m . . .” No, I won’t complete the sentence. Instead, I’ll throw a contrarian’s …
AUGUST 5, 2026 – One of the many things I appreciate about nature in all its moods, shapes, sounds, sizes, odors and colors, is that while we humans strut around, pushing and shoving one another in this direction and that, scaling snowy mountain peaks, taking deep dives into the sea, scampering around in our towns …
AUGUST 4, 2026 – The current era reminds me of a key feature in Highlights for Children magazine, which was popular with teachers, parents and slightly nerdy kids back when I was in second grade. My “go to” page was the one with all the “mistakes” that you were supposed to identify—you know, the shoe …
AUGUST 3, 2026 – (Cont.) Professor argues that the Declaration lays down five aspects of “equality” among peoples: First is the equality of people from domination of one by another. This finds expression in the first sentence, “for one people [. . .] to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal …
AUGUST 2, 2026 – In a previous post, I misstated (2015) by one year, the pub date (2014) of the book I just now finished, Our Declaration / A Reading of the DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE [sic] in Defense of Equality by Danielle Allen (Harvard University). The significance of this error is that as it turns …
AUGUST 1, 2026 – Yesterday’s much needed cloud cover and most important . . . gentle, all-day rain . . . yielded to a return of bright, sun-filled weather this morning. I took my breakfast out to our back porch and reveled in the felicitous combination of honey-laced oatmeal (further enhanced with pecans, chopped walnuts, …
JULY 31, 2026 – When I returned home yesterday after a week’s absence, I noticed immediately the parching effect of the current drought. The lawn, front and back, was mostly yellow. Baked to a crisp, my lemon basil plant was beyond salvation, but Beth’s potted plants stood a fighting chance. I gave them a good …
JULY 30, 2026 – Early this morning I stepped outside the back door of the old cabin and strolled around to the front for a view of the lake. Sunbeams filtered through the trees to the east, signaling positive prospects for the day ahead. The air was already warm and a bit hazy but not …
JULY 29, 2026 – After dispensing with legal work—in which I experienced the satisfaction that accompanies “break-throughs”—I turned to my oft-mentioned project of late, construction of my model sailboat fleet. Most of today’s effort was devoted to intricate rigging, necessitating reliance on “cheaters,” pincer-nosed pliers and small-motor coordination. After hoisting main and jib on the …
JULY 28, 2026 – Today the waters parted long enough to allow for painting the “sails,” tiller, splashboard and hull trim of another vessel of my model sailboat-from-wood-scraps fleet. This one was particularly tricky—it’s dual colored (for a husband-and-wife crew among the guests we’ll be hosting at the Red Cabin in August) and required an …
JULY 27, 2026 – This morning my wife and I attended to a bit of familial “crisis management.” The good news is that we were able to discharge our parental duties by phone from the porch of the Red Cabin. With this priority temporarily addressed, I was able to return to my next priority: earning …