Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JANUARY 10, 2026 – One central lesson I learned from my periodic forays into litigation over 40-some years of practicing law is that there’s no such thing as the “open-and-shut” case. Even when a defendant you’re suing defaults, you still have to enforce the judgment in favor of your client against what is doubtless a …
JANUARY 9, 2026 – After another day filled with talk about Wednesday’s cold-blooded killing by an ICE agent, I’m in equal parts mad and sad—mad that people in positions of the highest responsibility talk and act so irresponsibly; sad over the loss of our decency and dignity. From the president and his closest minions to …
JANUARY 8, 2026 – When many of us pull one eye away from our newsfeeds, we ask, “How in the world did we get here?” The question is especially freighted with special urgency in the wake of recent ICE actions here in Minnesota. One response I’ve heard (from white libs, mostly) is, “It all started …
JANUARY 7, 2026 – From my earliest days I remember the Morton Salt logo—a long-striding girl walking in a downpour and carrying an umbrella gracefully supported by one arm and under the other arm, an upside-down container of Morton Salt “pouring down” behind her. When I was old enough to read, I puzzled over the …
JANUARY 6, 2026 – At 12:46 a.m. today our time, we received a simple text from our younger son, Byron. “On our way to the hospital!” it read. We knew what that meant: the baby had better wait at least 40 minutes, since that was how long it would take to drive to the hospital. …
JANUARY 5, 2026 – Today, I have two questions (and corresponding answers) for you: QUESTION NO. 1: What do you do when a kid posing as a journalist on YouTube joins forces with his in-your-face-mom to spread a wicked falsehood, thereby upending the lives of countless innocent victims and sinking an already politically damaged vessel …
JANUARY 4, 2026 – Yesterday, our old-fashioned mail delivery service dropped into the mail slot of our old-fashioned house, an old-style letter envelope containing two ancient letters and two postcards of the same vintage as the two very old letters. On the face of one of the postcards was a Post-It Note bearing the handwriting …
JANUARY 3, 2026 – Well, well, well. Remember the “Epstein Files”? Once upon a time they threatened (so said news organizations, at least the ones not yet afraid of censorship) to embarrass, if not “create serious problems” for, Mr. Trump. Exhibit A: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise departure from the party line. But all that is …
JANUARY 2, 2026 – I don’t relish embarking on another anti-Trump bender, but I need a boost of self-generated heat: today’s ski venture (followed by the daily chop-the-ice-off-our-front-steps routine) left me with a mild case of frost-nip. Plus, to be perfectly honest, I’m rather “done with Trump.” Although he’s still an unruly bull rampaging inside …
JANUARY 1, 2026 – Unlike birthdays after a certain age, New Year’s Day brings a feeling of hope, renewal, and opportunity for more accommodating circumstances. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a person express resolve about much of anything when facing a birthday cake loaded with candles—or rather, impoverished of candles because it can’t …
DECEMBER 31, 2025 – With the close-out of 2025, I’d like to underscore the importance of celebrating the victories, not lamenting the defeats. If you share my politics, you’re likely to call me Pollyannaish, and from one valid perspective, I plead guilty as charged. On the other hand, to stay afloat psychologically in this troubled …
DECEMBER 30, 2025 – Throughout my childhood I was dragged to concerts by our parents and grandparents and accompanied by my all-too-willing sisters. Invariably, Dad would grade soloists on their stage presence; that is, whether they engaged in distracting histrionics. When it came to the actual music, no one could rival Dad’s discerning ears, but …
DECEMBER 29, 2025 – As we close in on the end of the year, Mother Nature reminds us that she is still very much in control. Witness yesterday’s weather—a veritable blizzard that interfered with countless post-holiday travel plans. I was ever so grateful that I’d dashed to and back from the Red Cabin the day …
DECEMBER 28, 2025 – I come from a family of characters, who in one way or another have found a relatively clutter-free entrance onto the great highway of life and worked their ways over to the cruise-control lanes of “through traffic.” Good for each of them—for excelling in school and training; for finding their callings; …
DECEMBER 27, 2025 – I remember the time I accidentally crushed an ant on the sidewalk. It registered on my retinas but a nano-second too late for me to rotate my leather-soled dress shoe to avoid the mishap as I rose off the downtown park bench after having finished my Subway sandwich. On my way …
DECEMBER 26, 2025 – I’ve always been fascinated by dreams, probably because by way of my particular mix of brain chemistry, I’ve always experienced remarkably vivid and memorable dreams. If I had another 10 cracks at an undergraduate education, one of them would be in psychology, with a sub-focus on the sub-conscious and un-conscious states …
DECEMBER 25, 2025 – People who know me well would likely doubt that for a brief time I went through a football phase. Documentary evidence of this improbable stage of my life takes the form of a letter to Santa that by pure coincidence of timing—today being Christmas Day—I rediscovered in a box full of …
DECEMBER 24, 2025 – The outside environment today, this day before Christmas, was “Blah, humbug!” After the blizzards and bitter cold that raged earlier in the month, an erratic mercury turned our local environs into an icy, crunchy, dirty-snow landscape. A featureless overcast matched the ugly ground cover in unattractive appearance. These black and white …
DECEMBER 23, 2025 – The regular reader knows by now that I’m a compulsive student of history. Just as some folks are obsessed with NFL football or college basketball (or as I used to be, with major league baseball), I’m zeroed in on “what happened and why” in previous chapters of civilization. What is the …
DECEMBER 22, 2025 – (Cont.) While pulling music from my music cabinet in search of “candidates” for the 50th reunion memorial service, I found many of the pieces I’d performed in the “Fiddler UNDER the Roof” concerts—lots of Bach; the Beethoven “Romances”; “Havanaise” and “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saëns; “Praeludium and Allegro” by …
DECEMBER 21, 2025 – I’m no gardener, though I’ve enjoyed modest success in cultivating basil, my favorite herb. I know plenty of gardeners, however, and I enjoy and fully appreciate the colorful (and tasty) results of their efforts, dedication, knowledge, and expertise. Ditto cooking: I’m no chef, though I can boil water without wrecking the …
DECEMBER 20, 2025 – Remember “DOGE”? Early on in his chaotic current term, Trump introduced the “Department of Government Efficiency” as an autocratic, take-no-prisoners assault on government “fraud, waste, and abuse.” The crowning image of its destructive mandate was its 500-power billionaire director, Elon Musk, on stage at a CPAC conference, wielding a gargantuan mock-up …
DECEMBER 19, 2025 – Today our fourth-grade granddaughter asked me what is the biggest holiday of the year. “In America or in the world?” I asked. “The world.” I was fairly certain it was Christmas, but just to be sure, I searched online. Christmas it was (according to several reputable sites—take my word for it). …
DECEMBER 18, 2025 – Here’s the deal: If you’re lucky, you grow old. But being lucky in that sense isn’t for the faint of heart. The closest analogy to a human being growing old is a motor vehicle growing old. In both cases, the shine of youth fades with time. Parts wear out. Filters need …
DECEMBER 17, 2025 – I know it’s a mouthful—“MacArthurMAGAburger”—but a mere taste of it can provide sufficient perspective to work as an effective antacid. What am I talking about? The life and times of General Douglas MacArthur, nemesis of President Truman (and democracy), yet the MAGA darling of a bygone era. Much can be said …