Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 10, 2020 – Whenever we chat with friends these days, the conversation inevitably plunges into politics, but just as predictably, we exchange recommendations for shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, et alia. I’ve watched enough online TV streaming shows to have developed an altered view of reality. I now pretend I’m living Season Four …
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 – Whenever I was with my dad up at the cabin on a warm day in late autumn, he’d mention the “Armistice Day Blizzard” (now, “Veterans Day”) of 1940. The day before had been unseasonably warm, pleasant, filled with sunshine. It was duck-hunting season and many hunters had blithely taken the day …
NOVEMBER 8, 2020 – The German surrender in WW II took effect on May 8, 1945, which became known in the UK and the US as “VE Day”—“Victory in Europe Day.” The Japanese surrender date, August 15, 1945, was called “VJ”—“Victory over Japan Day.” Yesterday we got a taste for how those victories—after so much …
NOVEMBER 7, 2020 – I woke just before the sun, slipped outside, and walked along the shoreline of Björnholm. Weather was splendid—perfect for posting trail signs in the “tree garden.” Biden’s ahead by the thinnest of margins. Will he prevail? That won’t end the drama. Consider Trump’s tirade Wednesday night—one so departed from truth, several …
NOVEMBER 6, 2020 – For four interminable years the Trumps—Don, Goofball Sons, Barbie, “Ken-in-law”—have most definitely been our “First Family”—first in corruption, first in crassness, first in crudity, first in every quality that would qualify any of them to be in charge of much of anything, let alone be president or a presidential advisor. (Trophy …
NOVEMBER 5, 2020 – I was angry all day yesterday, despite Biden’s chance of winning by a hair, or more precisely, because of his chance of winning only by a hair. With effort I assumed a happy face for our five-year old granddaughter, who was happily oblivious to the impact that the election will have …
NOVEMBER 4, 2020 – Well, as it turns out, I was wrong about a Blue Tsunami. The best half (apparently) of America can hope for is that Biden/Harris squeak through with 270 electoral votes. Four years ago I wondered how in the world close to half the country could support a person as patently dishonest, …
NOVEMBER 3, 2020 – Polling is still our main method of predicting election outcomes. Back in the day we had only two national polls—the Gallup Poll and the Harris Poll. Now, of course, polls are too numerous to list. After the debacle of 2016, pollsters’ credibility suffered, and everyone’s skittish about placing too much reliance …
November 2, 2020 – Yesterday I left town for a quick dash up to the Red Cabin before tomorrow’s turning point in history. My excuse was to check on the hundreds of bud caps I’d stapled to the white pine saplings in my “tree garden.” I’d completed the project just before the first big, wet …
NOVEMBER 1, 2020 – In the current campaign one of Republicans’ drumbeat syllogisms goes like this: Socialism is bad. Democrats are socialists. Therefore, Democrats are bad. This strategy is effective among consumers of FoxNews. They’ve learned to condemn socialism and anyone associated with it. Yet they’ve come to this belief not by any substantive explanation …
OCTOBER 31, 2020 – For a long time yesterday afternoon, helicopters hovered high overhead not far from our neighborhood. The last time that occurred was during the civil unrest in the aftermath of the George Floyd shooting late last spring. This time around, the occasion was much brighter. Vice President Biden was in town to …
OCTOBER 30, 2020 – Wednesday evening I eschewed the news and watched a movie. (My wife worked away in her home office—in the light of a horror film called . . . BREAKING NEWS!) I scrolled through Netflix and settled on Destiny, a film in Arabic, directed by Youssef Chahine (winner of the Cannes 50th …
OCTOBER 29, 2020 – In the aftermath of Trump’s upset victory in 2016, people struggled to explain Trump’s draw. Misogyny and racism were among the explanations, which were indictments of the “deplorables” who voted for the Orange Man. But the more empathetic among reasonable people reached for a deeper explanation: folks who’d been “left behind” …
OCTOBER 28, 2020 – To improve your driving, I suggest you slap a presidential campaign sticker onto your vehicle’s back window. Personally, I’ve found that our “BIDEN/HARRIS” sticker has made me a much more careful, courteous, and lawful driver. Whether the car behind me is Democratic (say, a Prius) or Trumpian (a Ford F-150 with …
OCTOBER 27, 2020 – When I say what I’m about to say, my wife frowns, telling me I’ll jinx my prediction. In reply I quip, “But I believe in math and science.” Despite the darkness that now shadows our nation, I think we’re on the cusp of a much brighter era. Within a reasonably short …
OCTOBER 26, 2020 – He towered above other people even though he was of modest height and for years, couldn’t rise from his wheelchair. He will always live tall in the memory of everyone who knew him . . . who knew Dean Rhodes, my brother-in-law. He died yesterday after a brief illness rendered acute …
OCTOBER 25, 2020 – Today’s edition of CBS Sunday Morning featured a segment on the contested presidential election of 1876—an historical episode providing valuable insights. America had been torn asunder by the Civil War (1861- 65). In the aftermath came Reconstruction and the Civil War Amendments; for a time, Blacks in the South were afforded …
OCTOBER 24, 2020 – With 10 days to go to Election Day, or more precisely “The Last Voting Day,” a CAT-5 political storm bears down on the nation. As we huddle in the face of fury, I predict an historic surge and obliteration. FIRST: the winds pack three acute, determinative crises: 1. Covid, which threatens …
OCTOBER 23, 2020 – My wife and I listened to every word of last night’s “debate.” We declared Biden the winner hands down, though Kristen Welker deserves special mention for her superb job in formulating questions and moderating the affair. GoebbelsNews declared Il Dunce the victor thanks to red herrings mixed with red meat. Observers …
OCTOBER 22, 2020 – Last night I finished reading Barbara Tuchman’s Stilwell and the American Experience in China – 1911 to 1945 (See my 9/3/20 post). Her thesis: America’s wartime policy toward China was a failure, and the outcome would’ve been more beneficial to our long-term interests had we not continued to back “G-mo”—Generalissimo Chiang …
OCTOBER 21, 2020 – With the onset of cold weather our blood adjusts (thickens) but gradually. This explains why 33F—yesterday’s local temp—feels so much colder in October than in March. Add the fact that my day-long bud-capping operation (see yesterday’s post) involved lots of standing in place and you’ll understand why I bulked up with …
OCTOBER 20, 2020 – Yesterday I launched my annual “bud-cap” operation in the tree garden. The work protects pine sapling leaders from foraging deer once the snow flies. The bud-caps are 4 x 6 paper folded over the leader and stapled in place. Conditions were perfect, and I bud-capped 292 trees. The operation continues today—before …
OCTOBER 19, 2020 – Those who’ve followed my stenciling project for signage in our Northwoods tree garden will be happy to know that over the weekend I hung the first sign. As it turned out, the hanging required ample engineering, way too many tools (and return trips to the cabin workroom), and boundless patience. Early …
OCTOBER 19, 2020 – I started out a conservative, thanks to strong family influences, but over the decades I’ve shifted leftward. I was destined to stay a Young Republican until I sat next to a fellow 18-year old—who had no more business being conservative at that age than I did—aboard one of several busloads of …
OCTOBER 17, 2020 – Yesterday, as I drove through the countryside to get to the Red Cabin, I thought about the state of our country. While driving deeper into despair, I saw a rafter of wild turkeys feeding off leftover grain in a harvested field. This prompted an idea . . . What if I …