MAY 10, 2019 – I once had a flight simulator computer program that allowed me to “fly” all sorts of aircraft, big and small, fast and slow, old and new. Taking off was the easy part. I adjusted the flaps, powered up and away I flew. The toughest part was always landing the damn plane. …
IMPEACHIM’
MAY 9, 2019 – I think the producers of The West Wing should do an encore called, IMPEACHIM’. The show would mimic what’s unfolding today—mostly on CNN—but provide depth and context. The first season would feature the president behaving within a full range of what people of taste would find distasteful. Some of the infractions …
FRAME OF REFERENCE
MAY 8, 2019 – I once heard an historian say that a probative history can’t be written until the subject matter is at least 50 years in the past. By extension, I suppose, the historian would caution us against making any judgments about the (always) tumultuous present. If you think hard enough about those correlative …
FROM “DE MINIMIS” TO “DEEP DO-DO”
MAY 7, 2019 – We hear and read regularly that we’re slip-sliding into ever deeper ecological do-do. The latest cause for alarm: a U.N. report on the imminent disappearance of a million species. I count myself (smugly) among the 63% of Americans who accept what’s believed by 97% of actively publishing climatologists: human activity threatens …
FLIGHT
MAY 6, 2019 – Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by flight, fueled by three early impressions: First, during my earliest school days, I’d look skyward whenever a North Central Airline Convair turbo-prop droned overhead—“NOR” in large black letters on the bottom of one silver wing and “CEN” on the underside of the …
OLMSTED WAS ON TO SOMETHING
MAY 5, 2019 – An urban gem lies near the center of St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1873 and now encompassing hundreds of acres, Como Park includes a zoo, pools, fountains, picnic grounds, mini-golf, a ski center, a butterfly garden, a vintage carousel, a kids amusement park, an 18-hole golf course, athletic fields, miles of …
I WORRY ME
MAY 4, 2019 – When the 448-page Mueller Report was made public, I actually attempted to read it. Instead of relying on Barr’s interpretation, let alone his client’s—wait a second, the president is not his “client”!—or anyone else’s take, I figure I’d read and interpret carefully the contents myself. I’d be the good citizen and …
A MILE HIGH
May 2, 2019 – I used to be a compulsive runner. In my prime, I logged 110 to 120 miles a week, full tilt. I worked out twice, sometimes thrice a day. Between workouts, I analyzed my running data, devoured running magazines and . . . carbohydrates. I ran the Boston Marathon years in a …
“ALL ABOARD!”
MAY 1, 2019 – Life is like a long rail journey—across India or Australia, let’s say, or the length of Egypt, or from L.A. to St. Paul. At the starting point, the train is clean, fresh, and ready to roll. The crew is welcoming, and as you will soon discover, your fellow passengers are quite …
REDEMPTION IN RESILIENCE?
APRIL 29, 2019 – Yesterday evening I watched on Netflix, a PBS documentary about the horrific Battle of Chosin Reservoir fought in the Korean War. The battle started the day after Thanksgiving, 1950 and extended well into December. I’d heard and read about it, but the extensive interviews with American veterans—the “Chosin Few,” as they …
THE “BIG HOLD”
APRIL 28, 2019 – Western Civilization has endured for more than 2,500 years. The Wild West, has roared for less than 250. By “Wild West,” I don’t mean only the Great Plains, the Rockies, or the deserts of the Southwest, though they are fetching symbols of “wild” and “West.” I mean strains of American culture …
WAR AND PEACE
APRIL 27, 2019 – Last night I pulled from the shelf a small volume of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, translated into English. Inside the front cover I’d written, “Purchased in Moscow – October 3, 1981.” That was the day before the start of my seven-day rail journey across Russia—and seven days back—with layovers in …
WHAT ELSE WORRIES YOU?
APRIL 26, 2019 – Worry is a survival instinct, especially among descendants of Swedish immigrants to Minnesota in the first 12 years of the 20th century. This explains why I worry a lot. About what? Examples include: distracted drivers; misuse of big data; computer hackers; the surge in deadly, drug-resistant bacteria; climate change on the …
DREAM STATE
APRIL 25, 2019 – Recently, my wife and I saw Sherlock, Jr., a Buster Keaton film (with music composed by Stephen Prutsman and performed live by Mr. Prutsman and Accordo (https://schubert.org/concerts/accordo/)). A dream sequence in the film parodied a common dream theme of acrophobia. The sequence was hilarious as the Keaton character teetered over one …
YEAH, BUTT . . .
APRIL 24, 2019 – My wife recently read me a FB political meme that went something like this: I get home from vacation and find my basement full of rabid raccoons. I call the city, I call several exterminators, but no one can or even wants to try to clean my basement of these awful …
PRESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS
APRIL 23, 2019 – Yesterday, Seth Moulton announced that he too is running for president. I’d never heard of him either (he’s a second term Congressperson from Massachusetts). What gives? Do Democrats think they increase the odds of defeating Trump if they increase the number of people seeking to oppose him? What qualifies each of …
A LITTLE TIME, BIG SPEED AND A LOT OF DISTANCE
When you next fume about politics, give yourself some distance. If I’m in sitting in the living room reading the latest headlines or watching cable news, I get very steamed. But if I walk to the kitchen, let’s say, my anger drops. If the kitchen is low on snacks, my anger will drop some more: …
GOD STUFF
APRIL 21, 2019 – Easter: Christianity’s big day—denouement of the Betrayal, the Trial, and the Crucifixion. My deeply religious mother told me that Easter coincided with spring, longer daylight and the rebirth of life and hope, just as Christmas marked the appearance of light amidst great darkness and despair. As a smart ass, I replied, …
NATURE AS BASEBALL
APRIL 20, 2019 – I am at my family’s “retreat” by Grindstone Lake in northwest Wisconsin. Through woods to the west, the next dwelling is hidden from sight. To the east lies undisturbed family-owned acreage acquired by my grandparents in 1939, when dirt was dirt cheap, and on which they built a cozy cabin—at the …
“THE HELL IF I KNOW . . .”
APRIL 19, 2019 – I remember well the day. It was early in my career at the venerable law firm with roots nearly as old as St. Paul itself. I’d been assigned to the litigation department, where I was learning in the shadow of old masters and in the wake of young go-getters. Many of …
THE NUN WITH A GUN
APRIL 18, 2019 – A friend, Judy H., told a true story about a nun with a gun. No matter what your position is on gun control, you’ll agree that within the story lies an amusing lesson or two. Judy, a liberal Catholic, had a friend who was a nun in an order that promoted …
IT’S ABOUT TIME!
APRIL 17, 2019 – A minute is always a minute, one equal to the next. But to my three-and-a half year-old granddaughter, a minute seems to last as long as 18 last for me. And if you’ve got low lung capacity, a minute is eternity if you’re holding your breath, especially while deep under water. …
VIVE NOTRE-DAME! VIVE L’HUMANITÉ!
APRIL 16, 2019 – I’m not a Catholic. I’m not even religious. I don’t live in Paris—or even in France or Europe. But because I am part of humanity, yesterday’s devastating fire crushed my heart. I learned of the tragedy while I was standing in a checkout line at Target a few blocks from my …
CONAKRY
APRIL 15, 2019 – Every Wednesday I have lunch with my friend Steve, a veritable polymath and successful entrepreneur. After a quick meal, we saunter through the skyways of downtown Minneapolis, often stopping at a donut shop where Steve buys a load of high-fat dough smothered with sugar. Starting about two months ago our route …
OPENING LINES
APRIL 14, 2019 – On this site you will find accounts, musings, anecdotes, diatribes, observations, and pontifications by a reasonably aware, Boomer-age, white guy whose curiosity and other mental faculties are still largely intact. That guy is me, or rather, “I.” My hope is to draw and hold attention by limiting each entry to fewer …