Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 26, 2022 – The last leg of your journey to the Red Cabin leads down Williams Road, a twisting, undulating passage through woods that crowd the edge of the pavement. The posted speed limit—40—is for your safety, especially in winter. Along this magical route, you pass a cabin or two tucked back in the …
NOVEMBER 25, 2022 – Blogger’s note: some of my readers have already noticed “word-count creep” in my posts. For two years, the self-imposed daily word limit was 500. In my travelogue series earlier this year, I broke that rule fairly often. Lately, I’ve unofficially bumped the limit up by 10%–and occasionally more. Today’s post, which in …
NOVEMBER 24, 2022 – Turkey Day has always been my favorite holiday of the year. As a kid, I savored the story of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags sitting down at a bunch of picnic tables against a backdrop of fall foliage and breaking acorn-squash-bread together in peace and amity. At the center of the whole …
NOVEMBER 23, 2022 – Okay, okay, okay! What will it take our country—what will it take US—to address gun violence effectively? When will the bloodshed, the tragedy, the irrationality of gun violence in America drive us to say “Enough!” and demand of ourselves and our leaders (social, business, political, cultural) an end this public health …
NOVEMBER 22, 2022 – My wife doesn’t know how lucky she is not to be at the Red Cabin with me—livin’ the life of Riley five days in a row. After just three days I was well into an eremitic routine. More than a week and I’d be a classic example of what happens to …
NOVEMBER 21, 2022 – It’s been four days since I’ve seen another human being but not since I’ve interacted with many—by phone, text and email. In fact, I spent many hours today on the phone; mostly contentious, anxiety-ridden or otherwise demanding business calls. They were a reminder of how removed most of my life has …
NOVEMBER 20, 2022 – Last night I repeated a Red Cabin routine (when the weather’s clear): I went outside to check the stars. After stepping down from our side porch onto a fresh blanket of snow . . . I gasped. In eerie silence the silhouetted woods touched a celestial vault filled with stars of …
NOVEMBER 19, 2022 – Inside the Red Cabin (with white trim—candy cane colors!) and surrounded outside by fresh, powder snow and arctic temperatures, I feel a bit like Santa Claus; more so because all day I’ve been working on our granddaughter’s Christmas present: the most elaborate gnome home I’ve ever designed. Earth’s latest rotation, however, …
NOVEMBER 18, 2022 – Today I spent many hours in work-related phone conversations and complex email exchanges; headwork related to “life back in the Big Smoke.” For much of the day my back was to the windows, but occasionally, I stole a glance at the snow-covered wonderland outside the Red Cabin. Several times I flipped …
NOVEMBER 17, 2022 – Contrary to conventional . . . wisdom . . . aging doesn’t necessarily make a person wiser, unless wisdom means obsession with health, distress over a disturbances of the peace (despite loss of hearing), a greater tendency to vote “conservative,” and general ossification of cognitive processes. Another indicium of aging—without added …
NOVEMBER 16, 2022 – Today, after many weeks of embracing the delights of life—yes, LIFE in all its beauty and brilliance—following my autologous stem cell transplant in August, I had to spend two hours on the phone with a coordinator of a clinical study. The call reminded me that though I’m out of “cancer jail,” …
NOVEMBER 15, 2022 – Today I experienced a bad case of . . . myself. The back story: Upon successful emergence from my bone marrow stem cell transplant, I was prescribed fluorescent-yellow medicine as palatable as transmission fluid. The intended purpose of the daily dose of this awful stuff was to prevent bacterial pneumonia. When …
NOVEMBER 14, 2022 – We’ve long been graced with Miracle Whip—for 90 years, to be exact, since the cheaper alternative to mayonnaise made its debut at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933. When I was a kid, Miracle Whip was a staple in our pantry. A coordinate miracle, I discovered, was …
NOVEMBER 13, 2022 – Yesterday, heading out on my walk, I encountered our neighbors Kate and Dave across the alley. We hadn’t chatted in a while, so I stopped to talk. They’re smart, bright, articulate, well-informed and invariably have something worthwhile to hear. Among yesterday’s takes-away was a film recommendation: Don’t Look Up, on Netflix. …
NOVEMBER 12, 2022 – No one likes to sit down with coffee on a Saturday morning to read The Times . . . and hear one’s spouse call from the basement, “WE HAVE A PROBLEM DOWN HERE!” You can’t hide. You have to forget The Time and face the music. Taking hard steps to signal …
NOVEMBER 11, 2022 – If we look back on this day 104 years ago—originally Armistice Day; “Veterans Day” after June 1, 1954—the great rising and falling powers of Europe, drained of blood and purpose, called a halt to the mutual mayhem and destruction that had decimated an entire generation. Along the way, Russia was turned …
NOVEMBER 10, 2022 – (Cont.) According to a story my dad later told, however, George Campbell was as thrifty as my Swedish grandmother was frugal. One fall day when the Campbells were closing up their cabin for the season, George hiked over through the woods to offer my grandmother a leftover, half-stick of butter wrapped …
NOVEMBER 9, 2022 – The directive was clear. Soon after Beth had left this morning in search of more inventory for her online-used book sales, she sent me a text: “Could you please try and get your car in the garage today.” Implicit was the sub-directive (or was it the main directive?): clear out all …
NOVEMBER 8, 2022 – Today was a blustery fall day at the Red Cabin. A strong blow out of the southeast whipped the lake into a frenzy and made trees sway without relief. Until João and Joana called from Lisbon late in the morning, I could’ve forgotten it was Election Day (I’d voted early)—our Portuguese …
NOVEMBER 7, 2022 – This evening I ventured out to see the full moon emerge from its wanderings in the exotic East. Here at the Red Cabin, which faces the lake due south, deep woods obstruct the sky east and north. To catch the moonrise, I’d have to follow a woodland trail to a promontory …
NOVEMBER 6, 2022 – When the weather is mild, November is a splendid month in the Northwoods. Today the sun brightened the landscape and the wind—gusting past 20 mph—had free rein. Mindful that falling debris could have free rein, as well, I kept eyes and ears peeled for arboreal projectiles. I didn’t go quite as …
NOVEMBER 5, 2022 – Blogger’s note: Given the subject matter of this (lengthy) post, I found it difficult to split it into installments. I think you’ll understand why, assuming you read the post in its entirety. I hadn’t touched my fiddle in a week, and before that, not in a month; maybe that’s why …
NOVEMBER 4, 2022 – I’m “a people person,” to be sure, but I also thrive in periodic seclusion from my fellow humans—as long as I’m surrounded by natural beauty, as I am here at the Red Cabin. When the weather and legal work are accommodating, I spend the majority of daylight hours outside, always observing …
NOVEMBER 3, 2022 – This morning at daybreak while I was on my pre-breakfast, woodland walk, my good friend Linda Hoeschler called. It’d been a while since we’d talked. By way of my 10/10-12/2022 posts, however, she was aware of my encounter with “the stick.” She admonished me to be careful while up here in …
NOVEMBER 2, 2022 – Today while bud-capping white pine trees in the “tree garden,” I spotted a four-year old seedling nestled up against an old, pin oak tree. The red leaves of a raspberry plant, backlit by Apollo’s chariot, dangled over the pine. A nice picture, I thought. Just as I reached for my iPhone, …