Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MAY 31, 2021 – I’ve long forgotten the context of the conversation, but one day when I was a firstgrader palling around with Johnny Ridge a couple of doors down, he told me nonchalantly that his uncle “sat on a grenade and got a reward.” Years later, the uncle, Rick Sorenson, came back to Anoka …
MAY 30, 2021 – When he was old, my Grandpa Holman liked to joke about his age when someone stopped for idle chat. “Know how old I am?” he’d ask with hardly any lip or jaw movement. “No,” the person would say. “Neither do I . . .” Grandpa would respond, adding, “because my birthday …
MAY 29, 2021 – Yesterday I took our five-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter to nearby Como Park, where she ran free in the gracious sunshine. On our way to the frog pond, Illiana—in her princess dress—rolled down a grassy knoll. If my back had allowed, I would’ve joined her, as oblivious to attention as was she. We had, …
MAY 28, 2021 – Historically, the power of political leaders emanates from the people who are subject to that power, voluntarily or involuntarily. Lust and fear, meanwhile, are the central ingredients in the relationship between the governed and those who govern. In a dictatorship, fear runs two ways. The dictator who lusts for power fears …
MAY 27, 2021 – After yesterday’s shootings, I’d planned to pontificate about gun control in America. But that’s a story of inertia, so I decided to write about something far more dynamic: aging in America. On an early biz call, an acquaintance asked. “How’s it goin’?” “To be honest,” I said, “[sciatica flare-up].” To which …
MAY 26, 2021 – Recently, the QAnon Congresswoman caught flak for what was deemed an anti-Semitic remark—comparing public health measures to Holocaust savagery. I see it differently. Comparing the face mask rule with the Holocaust lacks the cogency necessary for placement on the broad scale of anti-Semitism—from insidiously subtle to outrageously overt. Congressional Dems and …
MAY 25, 2021 – Displaced by news of human beings beating up on each other are the latest reports regarding “climate change.” Like 90% of an iceberg, this climate news is below the surface. Consider the following: The May 17 study, published by Nature Geoscience, concluding that global warming will expose more of the Antarctic …
MAY 24, 2021 – One of my made-up maxims (page 47 of my imaginary book, Eric’s Adages) is this: To give a statistic meaning, you need to give it company. Whether the context is economics, demographics, or scientific research, to understand a figure, a number, a data point, you need to have a reference point—often …
MAY 23, 2021 – Over the past two days I’ve enjoyed two scintillating conversations with two neighbors. I’m amazed that it took so long to open these nearby treasure chests of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The first encounter occurred two doors down our alley. Mike was cleaning the inside of his car as I walked …
MAY 22, 2021 – Yesterday, I heard a report that cash is becoming obsolete. Not surprisingly, the pandemic accelerated the trend. The report mentioned that many retail businesses already don’t accept . . . cash. I wondered about the illicit gun and drug business, not to mention “cash” in exchange for that handyman working out …
MAY 21, 2021 – If you’ve been following even sporadically the Republican election “audit” in Maricopa County, Arizona or the Republican Congressional denial of the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, you’ve been following nonsense. Any human experienced in reality knows that the foregoing examples of unreality are just that—nonsense. But behind the nonsense lies …
MAY 20, 2021 – Dad would’ve turned 99 today—had he lived another 11 years. In his mind, 87, almost 88, was a respectable number. When the hospitalist gave him the bad news, Dad’s response was to note the ages of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. A student of history, Dad admired deeply George and Abe. “Washington …
MAY 19, 2021 – Over years I’ve experienced episodic lower back pain—sometimes severe. I’m not alone. In searching for relief, I discovered that 80% of people older than 18 experience back trouble. A deeper dive reveals that among other maladies and dysfunctionalities, lower back pain is killing us. I wonder if other vertebrates experience “lower …
MAY 18, 2021 – Surrounded yesterday by Mother Nature, I found her more compelling subject than yet more consequences of Republicans drinking too much Kook Aid. An email at 10:06 a.m. told me my order of seedlings had been delivered. I’d been on a biz call while sitting inside the front of the Red Cabin …
MAY 17, 2021 – If you’re Norwegian, you know what today—“Syttende Mai,” or “Seventeenth May”—is all about. If you’re Swedish, there’s some spillover effect, meaning you’re aware that it’s the one day on which Norwegians wave their flag and shout, “Hurra!” May 17 is Norway’s Constitution Day or National Day and also commemorates Norway’s independence—kinda, …
MAY 16, 2021 – Yesterday I spent hours outside—trail cutting on the “back 40,” inspecting the budding pine in the “tree garden,” hikes along the shore path, and working on our granddaughter’s treehouse. When surrounded by nature for days running, you begin to notice how everything is connected. And that’s before you don a scientist’s …
MAY 15, 2021 – My “first world problem” the day before yesterday was a new lift that wouldn’t accommodate our new boat. Mid-morning yesterday, I called the outfit where I’d purchased the lift. Someone needed to examine the situation and create a solution. No one answered, so I left a message. An hour later, a …
MAY 14, 2021 – As the old adage has it, the second happiest day in a guy’s life is the day he buys a boat. But I’ll have you know that while traditionally, guys were boat-buyers, another effect of the pandemic was turning women into a major influence in the pleasure boat market. By the …
MAY 13, 2021 – The notion of a citizen-army or a citizen-government seems so right, so Norman Rockwellian. Why shouldn’t the gentleman farmer become a general, then president? Why shouldn’t a self-educated log-splitter become president—without first being a general? . . . And why shouldn’t a 29-year-old wait person from Queens—or a Q-Anon kook from …
MAY 12, 2021 – Yesterday I noticed a few doors down, a parked van belonging to a plumbing outfit named, “Weld & Sons.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a business name that included “Sons” or “Brothers” (or “Bros.”). Back in the day—my day, anyway—you’d see a lot of trucks, stores, and commercial …
MAY 11, 2021 – Lately I’ve been reading about the English Civil War. Through a modern lens, that episode offends modern sensibilities. Then I catch myself. Returning to the present, I check my newsfeed and wonder: Who’d be more shocked and awed—a person from England in 1649 (the year the king lost his head) viewing …
MAY 10, 2021 – Walk with me here . . . Early yesterday evening as I was returning from my “hill climbs” in Little Switzerland, the reclining sun played with my imagination. Backlighting nascent leaves, splashing across greening yards, and casting playful shadows onto westward facing walls, sun beams worked their magic. Magic, I thought. …
MAY 9, 2021 – If only I’d read about Anna Jarvis, the force behind Mother’s Day in the U.S., before I bought my wife a card and big present! I’ll explain in a bit, but first, a bit o’ history. Ms. Jarvis first celebrated Mother’s Day after her own beloved mother died in 1905. The …
MAY 8, 2021 – When our neighbor John wandered over to the Red Cabin last weekend, my wife asked him if he was keeping himself busy. After a deep sigh, he said, “I’ve probably got over a hundred projects underway.” For John, that was no exaggeration. After chatting awhile, he jumped back on his trail …
MAY 7, 2021 – Before heading for the Red Cabin yesterday, I decided to give the yard a quick haircut. As I pushed the mower to the front, a lawn service guy hired by the next-door neighbors approached along the boundary. I greeted him, and he responded in kind. After a couple of rows of …