Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 17, 2019 – In college I had friends who took the foreign service entrance exam—a grueling three-hour written test about every conceivable subject, a personality profile, and an oral exam, not to mention physical and security clearances. I knew people who took both the LSAT and the foreign service exam and reported that the …
NOVEMBER 16, 2019 – (Cont.) A few miles further—and a few tunes later on ‘Kool 108,’ the radio station that features hits from the 60s and 70s—the announcer said, “Good morning everyone, to the sound of Kool 108, where all day long, we play all the songs you remember from the 60s and 70s.” An open …
NOVEMBER 15, 2019 – Blogger’s Note: For several years quite awhile ago, my sisters, mother, nieces and I wrote daily stories on an online family bulletin board. By the end of our experiment, we’d accumulated thousands of pages of material. Here, in two parts is an entry I posted describing a ride to school one day …
NOVEMBER 15, 2019 – Let’s understand: impeachment and trial are political procedures conducted according to rules set by the House (impeachment) and Senate (trial). Impeachment/removal proceedings are not legal proceedings subject to the Federal Rules of Evidence, which render hearsay testimony inadmissible (subject to certain exceptions) . . . and to the Rules of Civil/Criminal …
NOVEMBER 13, 2019 – My friends who support Trump offer the following reasons: Tax cuts; Deregulation; Court appointees; Attempted invasion by illegal immigrants; Democrats are so corrupt. Among my Trumpster friends, their pick of the foregoing reasons outweighs Trump’s “unlikability.” Meanwhile, friends who share my disdain for Trump struggle to explain his support. The most …
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 – Yesterday was “Veteran’s Day,” because Armistice Day was “so far away.” And yesterday, World War I was on my mind, since my grandfather Nilsson was a veteran of The Great War, which ended on Armistice Day—officially, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—a long, long time …
NOVEMBER 11, 2019 – Among my treasures is my memory of my mom-in-law, Cleo Boger, who would’ve turned 99 today had she lived another three years. She was born the same year as the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Cleo lived just long enough to vote for a woman candidate for …
NOVEMBER 10, 2019 – I’m angered, saddened, humored, flummoxed, flabbergasted, and fascinated by Facebook. To roil me further, someone reminded me recently that “What you see on Facebook is not the same as what I see on Facebook.” Compared to most active FB users, I don’t have a lot of friends (383, according to FB, …
NOVEMBER 9, 2019 – With every new business client, I like to elicit background information. It facilitates rapport, and rapport gives me greater broader, deeper insight into the client’s needs, concerns, flexibility, and level of sophistication—so I can calibrate my communication accordingly. Plus, I’m curious about what makes people tick. Everyone has a story, and …
NOVEMBER 8, 2019 – As to all things Ukraine . . . the country fractures thusly: One-third (“First Estate”), knows facts and truth, panics; One-third (“Second Estate”) knows better, denies; One-third (“Third Estate”) knows nothing, cares little. However likely impeachment, conviction is equally unlikely. It will be Trump vs. [Democrat] in 2020. As it turns …
NOVEMBER 7, 2019 – I’m lucky to have traveled round the globe, literally, crisscrossing oceans, continents, the equator, the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn. Whenever possible I’ve looked out the window of car, train, ship, and plane. On foot, bike or skis, I’ve peered as far and wide as I …
NOVEMBER 6, 2019 – Each of us is born with a hard-wired power unit that lights up ambition and aspiration and powers all plans and actions. The power runs constantly, fueled by will, wind, or whim, depending on individual disposition, experience, and circumstance. Evolution gave us the power unit for survival. In most of us, …
NOVEMBER 5, 2019 – Despite urban “combat driving conditions,” it was in the country where Sunday evening I experienced two close calls. In each case, reflex avoided a high-impact collision. Both incidents left me wondering whether the total absence of distractions was a deciding factor. The first occurred on US Highway 8 across rural western …
Blogger’s Note: Of 182 posts to date, this is the first to exceed the self-imposed cap of 500 words. It will remain the exception. In the writer’s opinion, slavish adherence to the rule, even via serialization, would detract from the story. NOVEMBER 4, 2019 – This past weekend up at the Red Cabin, I sifted …
NOVEMBER 3, 3019 – Recently on Facebook I saw a Barron’s post recommending recession-proof stocks. Lots of comments followed, many by “investors” with nasty, hyperbolic attitudes toward Elizabeth Warren. Take this one, for example: Has anybody listened to one word Pocahontas [sic] has said about what she wants to do to our economy? No stock …
NOVEMBER 2, 2019 – I’ve long believed that some banks are too big to succeed. But that’s another story. This post is about three young, street-level (technically, skyway level) bank employees who should be running the outfit. Someday they will. They are Lance, Desilo, and Mohammed. This past week they went to town on my …
NOVEMBER 1, 2019 – Yesterday, in his column, The Point, CNN commentator Chris Cillizza explained Trump’s support. Cillizza boiled it down to the attitude, “I’m fed up with the [corrupt, do-nothing but ignore me] government and won’t take it anymore!” Trump played on that in 2016 and will hammer at it for re-election. Cillizza cited …
OCTOBER 31, 2019 – Every legal case has two parts—facts and law. Sometimes the facts are in the bag: the other side is blind, deaf, and dumb regarding the facts OR both sides stipulate to the facts. The case then turns on the law—given irrefutable or stipulated facts, how should the law be applied? From …
OCTOBER 30, 2019 – Yesterday after work-work, I worked raking leaves in our yard. In Minnesota, raking leaves means you’ll soon be shoveling snow. I thought about that as I raked a billion maple leaves into a gigantic pile. Dry, crinkly leaves are a piece of pumpkin pie when compared to shoveling snow onto four-foot-high …
OCTOBER 29, 2019 – ME: I propose a ground rule: I won’t use the word “ass”; you won’t use the words, “sham” and “witch hunt.” Deal? REPUBLICAN: Deal. You go first. ME: Impeachment contemplated by the Constitution is an extraordinary remedy to be applied only when the president has committed a seriously wrong act—a high …
OCTOBER 28, 2019 – Last week The New York Times carried an article about a recent find of mammalian fossils revealing how life bounced back after the demise of the dinosaurs. The article was a welcome respite from all the stories about human dysfunctionality aboard spaceship earth. After reigning over the earth for 165 million …
OCTOBER 27, 2019 – An acquaintance running for mayor of his town recently told me he’d been labeled “racist” in a hard-fought campaign. “Being called ‘racist,’” he told me, “is the next worst thing to being called a pedophile.” He, of course, denies being racist. According to Merriam-Webster’s, “racism is a belief that race is the …
OCTOBER 26, 2019 – Sixty years ago I entered kindergarten. My older sisters had blazed the trail, and I remember their enthusiastic anticipation of my first day of school. They told me about all the fun that was in store. “Oh, and you’ll get to ride in the boat, too!” said sister Elsa. “The boat?” …
OCTOBER 25, 2019 – When it comes to impeachment, the Democrats worry me. So do the Republicans. But more precisely, “we the people” worry me. Why? Because “we the people” are no longer “we.” One could fairly argue that we’ve never been “we.” Exhibit A: the institution of slavery, which pre-dated by over 150 years, …
OCTOBER 24, 2019 – Yesterday I went to the doctor for my flu/pneumonia shots and annual physical. Because I’m now 65, the sign-in questionnaire was quite different from the form used on younger adults. The “old folks” form includes such questions as, “How many times did you fall last year?” with a choice between “0-1” …