Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JULY 30, 2020 – Two years ago on a flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to LaGuardia, I sat next to a guy from the extreme northwest corner of Minnesota. In the course of trip, I learned that he loved to hunt, hated wolves, loved dogs, hated the city, loved the country. The recent death of his …
JULY 29, 2020 – He died long before our time, but my sisters and I knew very well, people who knew him very well. He was “George B. Holman,” our maternal great-grandfather. His entrepreneurial sweat and equity were in Rutherford, New Jersey, but his rest and recreation were in Lyme, Connecticut. Among his hobbies: gardening …
JULY 27, 2020 – Yesterday, I had to take care of some business at the Lyme Town Hall. Mistaking “Public Hall” for “Town Hall,” I thought I’d walk from Lyme Light, then around the corner and down Cove Road to the hamlet of Hamburg—population 23, plus the modest yacht club, Reynold’s general store, the Congregational …
JULY 26, 2020 – I’ve always found refuge in beauty—redwoods; mountains; seashore; sunrises, sunsets; starry nights by Heaven; Starry Night by Van Gogh; birdsong in spring and Beethoven’s Spring Sonata. But I also mean “small” beauty—delectable nourishment arranged artistically upon my dinner platter; translucent tail feathers of a bluejay flying across the yard into the …
JULY 25, 2020 – My mother traced her roots to England—“Olde” and “New.” Landing in 1621, her forebears were among the earliest colonizers of this land. They grew deep roots in the place where I now sit—Lyme, Connecticut. My exact location is the front verandah of “The Escape Hatch,” later renamed “Lyme Light” by two …
JULY 23, 2020 – I’m allergic to cats, but that didn’t stop my family from taking in a feral, three-week-old (so said the vet) kitten in distress our young boys found under the porch at the Red Cabin in October 1999. They named it “Koosh,” because it looked like an all-gray “kooshball.” It developed the …
JULY 22, 2020 – Yesterday I watched a webinar on advising start-ups about cyber security. Like any cyber security consultant, the presenter scared the crap out of her audience. I’d sat through such sessions before and was generally aware of the perils associated with security breaches. But one needs a periodic reminder that one’s devices …
JULY 21, 2020 – On the porch recently, my wife and I were immersed in novels by Lisa See; stories about modern China. In each, the Cultural Revolution figured prominently. “When did Mao take over?” My wife asked, breaking the silence. “1949,” I said. Silence returned. Coincidentally, days later an acquaintance dropped off a book. …
JULY 20, 2020 – (Cont.) Two weeks later, Dad and my two older sisters picked us up at the train depot in Minneapolis. “How was your trip?” he asked. “Good,” I said. “Wonderful,” Mother said. “We went to the fair,” my younger sister said. I couldn’t wait to present Dad with his requested souvenir. Less …
JULY 19, 2020 – (Cont.) A couple of weeks—half the summer, it seemed—had passed since I’d first been made aware of The Pietà. As my uncle, mother, sister and I walked the fairgrounds, I saw many other attractions that eclipsed Michelangelo’s famous work—things such as the old-fashioned car track next to the Ford Pavilion; the …
JULY 18, 2020 – Fifty-six years ago my mother, younger sister and I took a train trip to the Far East—Rutherford, New Jersey—to visit my uncle and grandparents. Our stay would last a month, and a centerpiece attraction was to be a trip to the New York World’s Fair. I remember a family conversation around …
JULY 17, 2020 – Recently, on my evening walk I heard an outdoor concert by a dozen student . . .VIOLISTS! Led by their indomitable instructor, Elizabeth Cregan, these high school kids put out some great sound for an attentive, appreciative neighborhood audience. I’d met Ms. Cregan and her husband during the week following the …
JULY 16, 2020 – Ever since 63 million Americans cast their votes for a person who, in my 60+ years’ experience of gauging people, was utterly and patently ill-suited for any position of authority or responsibility, I’ve wondered—how can this be? By way of background, I attended school—kindergarten on up. I’ve held a number of jobs …
JULY 15, 2020 – In the days after 9/11, America was united, right, wrong, or indifferent—except at the time, no one was indifferent. Flags flew high. Pride stood tall. We all were “in this together.” In fact, for a short, precious time, the world was united, as reflected by the French president’s famous quip, “We’re all Americans …
JULY 14, 2020 – I’m not talking here about delusions inside the Naked Emperor’s head, accepted or acquiesced in by his supporters and enablers. I’m thinking of books labeled and acknowledged as full-on fiction. Over decades, my desultory book-reading career has involved mostly non-fiction. “With so much to know about the non-fiction world,” I’d say, …
July 13, 2020 – The other night I stepped out onto our dock to behold the heavens. I do so often and each time become ever more awestruck. High-powered binoculars multiply the starry display into mind-blowing proportions. I think about ordinary physics—time, light, distance; about astrophysics—the make-up of those burning lights. I think about how …
JULY 12, 2020 – When I was little, Dad bought a cheap chunk of farmland north of town and planted 10,000 pine seedlings. Later he bought a larger, cheaper piece of prairie in a neighboring county and planted 20,000 more. His idea was to raise Christmas trees to supplement his income as Clerk of Court …
JULY 11, 2020 – After a week at the Red Cabin I’m feeling safe from humanity. I rarely even skim “the news” and rely on my wife, who reads it, to inform me if the world has in fact gone over the ever-threatening proverbial falls. I must confess, however, that yesterday I glanced at headlines. …
JULY 10, 2020 – Yesterday, my wife hung a hummingbird feeder on each side of the porch of the Red Cabin. From nowhere appeared a flock of ruby-throated hummingbirds. Actually, the term is a “charm”—according to Decoda, Canadian-based organization promoting literacy (isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?). As I write, four members of a charm …
JULY 9, 2020 – Yesterday evening we sat out on the dock watching some amazing birdlife. The two herons that hang out on the shore several hundred feet in one direction flew back and forth. On one of these trips a heron communicated with a couple of mallards swimming past the end of the dock. …
JULY 8, 2020 – Among my required triennial continuing legal education credits are two regarding “elimination of bias.” To satisfy this requirement I recently attended a webinar entitled, “The Impact of Bias in Negotiations and Mediation” by Nina Meierding, a nationally acclaimed expert. I hung on every word. Back in the day, “old school” lawyers …
JULY 7, 2020 – On our way to the Red Cabin, we pass through the trim town of Cumberland, Wisconsin, population 2,170. Mom-and-pop stores line Main Street, the sole commercial street in town. At the economic center of town is an old 3M plant across from the high school football field. The most remarkable feature …
JULY 6, 2020 – I’m not a “math and science” guy, though in school I did just fine. It’s just that I didn’t advance very far. I was too busy being a “words” guy. Still am. No apologies. And my disclaimer regarding math and science doesn’t disqualify me from deploying words about a scientific concern. …
JULY 5, 2020 – When your dwelling loses power, you’re reminded of the basics of modernity: running water, storing perishable foods, and most important of all—phone chargers. After a lazy, tropical day at the Red Cabin, my wife and I were about to sit down for our Fourth of July “barbeque” supper. Preparations had involved …
JULY 4, 2020 – (Cont.) “Who? I think I don’t know you,” he said. However much my chum might’ve changed physically, he wouldn’t have developed a thick accent. I showed him the photograph and explained why I’d thought he was Dick V. By this time, the woman had approached. By the shape of her mouth …