Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
OCTOBER 9, 2021 – Our granddaughter is several weeks into kindergarten, and as close-by grandparents, we share in pick-up and after-school “entertainment” duties. For us the kindergarten experience was in a galaxy far, far away, but not so many light years that lots of details can’t be remembered. Our hard drives had ample storage. One …
OCTOBER 8, 2021 – Rent control has long been in vogue in “Big Blue” states like New York and California. Now it’s up for consideration in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The shortage of affordable housing across urban America is a major problem, intersecting with companion issues, from racial inequality, income disparity, and access to transportation, …
OCTOBER 7, 2021 – Yesterday, I took . . . a business trip . . . to downtown Minneapolis, my first such venture in over 18 months. Before the lockdown last March, I’d worked in downtown Minneapolis for decades. Every day I’d dress up, look the part, and interact with lots of people in the …
OCTOBER 6, 2021 – Contemporary life has been kind to dogs and the industries that support them—from chow manufacturers to purveyors of leashes and strollers; yes, strollers. Recently, my youngest sister saw a dog owner in Central Park pushing two hounds (all dolled up) in a stroller. In Minnesota I haven’t yet seen people pushing …
OCTOBER 5, 2021 – Yesterday evening after sunset, I hiked to Little Switzerland for my daily “hill climbs.” In the distance appeared the twin TV transmitting towers near the northern beltway around the Twin Cities. The blinking red lights of the 1,200-foot towers reminded me of a preposterous idea I devised 20 years ago. Our …
OCTOBER 4, 2021 – Traditional conservatives are quick to condemn big spending bills as “inflationary. Little sets their hair on fire faster than, “a trillion bucks.” Not all experts, however, think “a trillion bucks” are inflationary. Cathie Wood, whose Ark Investment Management fund has attracted billions of dollars, said recently on Bloomberg Wealth, “I truly …
OCTOBER 3, 2021 – A friend recently gave me Bob Woodward’s bone-chilling book, Peril, in which he details how America nearly cratered last January. Yesterday, after plunging into the book, I realized that to avoid cerebral explosion, I’d have to take a break; far better for mental and physical health to be lost in the …
OCTOBER 2, 2021 – This year we’ve seen extraordinary loon- and eagle-activity on our lake. Along our shoreline, especially, eagles have been loud, busy, and majestic. Loons, meanwhile, have dominated the waters and developed unusual familiarity with humans passing by aboard pontoons. Little action has been caught on camera. Loons and eagles are much too …
OCTOBER 1, 2021 – If I could magically, instantly acquire 20,000 hours of flying time, I’d consider getting my pilot’s lesson. Otherwise, at my age I wouldn’t trust my faculties in the cockpit of an airplane any more than I’d trust them astride a Harley. Thus, I must be satisfied as a ground-bound spectator, straining …
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 – Yesterday I talked about celestial majesty—the beauty of the Milky Way, the wonder of the cosmos. Today, the subject is . . . your anus. I’m joking, of course. I meant “urine—us,” which is how astronomers pronounce the problematic name of the seventh planet of our solar system, spelled U-r-a-n-u-s. I’ve …
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 – Yesterday evening I joined two of my sibs and a brother-in-law for dinner at the cabin of Björnholm. It was a simple and splendid affair—the four of us, seated around the oak table, partaking in bowls of chickpea stew accompanied by Swedish flatbread and a recording of Alfred Brendel playing in …
SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 – When you’re a kid, you view life through a narrow prism. When you’re a geezer, the perspective delivered only by age allows you to see through a wider lens. Take, for example . . . learning to ride a bike. That rite of passage brought extreme anxiety when I was a …
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 – Long ago, Barnes & Noble maintained a large store in downtown Minneapolis. At lunchtime on most workdays, whether I was grabbing food, running errands, or enjoying a rare power lunch at Murray’s Steakhouse, my office-return path took me to Barnes & Noble. Often, I made the bookstore my only destination over …
SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 – Little imagination is required to grasp the paradox of AI: machines ruling their makers. Of course, this condition existed long before Bill Gates invented the computer or Al Gore, the internet. Yet, while visiting our son Byron and his wife, Mylène, last month, my wife and I watched with amusement, the …
SEPTEMBER 25, 2021 – When asked what he thought about democracy, Mahatma Gandhi purportedly said, “It’s an interesting idea.” Democracy has ample flaws to render it “interesting,” starting with . . . everyone gets to participate—including people who aren’t subscribers to democracy’s fundamental principle: power is derived from the consent of the governed, not from …
SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 – To divert myself from worldly woes, I leap to the future when all of earth is scorched earth and “alien” visitors search for evidence that water once flowed here. Then I return to the present for a fresh look at . . . worldly woes. Take, for example, packaging. Why should …
SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 – Netflix, Schmetflix. For entertainment, I binge on (YouTube) series by Star Media and Epic Media, Russian film-production companies. My list includes Kill Stalin and Zhukov—reviews are buried among my 855 prior posts—and I’m impressed by story lines, casting, acting, direction, costuming, music, staging, and set-and-prop detail. The latest: The Attackers, a …
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 – In 1926, T. E. Lawrence (the “Lawrence of Arabia”) published his autobiography called, Seven Pillars of Wisdom. I’ve never read it, but I was impressed when at a block party a few years back, a neighbor revealed his ownership of multiple editions. While other attendees of the party were grillin’ and …
SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 – I’m beginning to harbor second thoughts about my life-long profession. “Beginning”?! Well, not exactly, but as we’ve seen on stark display over the recent past, denialism and rationalization run rampant in our species. What’s led to second thoughts? “Repetitive introspection.” After hitting one’s skull against the wall 10,000 times, one discovers …
SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 – My wife rode home earlier with our weekend guests. Hours later, I loaded the car and departed from the Red Cabin. Once I’d transitioned from local, sleepy roads to byways south and west, I imagined myself sitting alone in a compartment aboard a long-distance train hurtling across foreign lands. I luxuriated …
SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 – Yesterday was the perfect lake day—nearly a full week into my break from “breaking news.” The weather was delicious—temps in the mid-70s, under cloudless skies, and a soft breeze out of the south tantalizing our imaginations. For the first time in two years we were joined by friends Ann and Ravi, …
SEPTEMBER 18, 2021 – If I’m short of material, all I need to do is hike to the end of our block and ring the Paulson’s doorbell. Invariably, Kent Paulson, retired honors English teacher at Roseville High School, has something pithy to say. He’s never without a cutting comment, an insightful observation, or an amusing …
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 – Recently I had a singularly strange experience, one that try as I might, I’ll never be able to replicate. It occurred late one afternoon while I was alone in our living room, surrounded by familiar objects: rug, furniture, decorative items adorning the mantel above the fireplace, and various pictures and wall-hangings …
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 – No one’s asked me recently, “If you could do life over, what vocation would you pursue?” If I were asked, I’m unsure what I’d say. I might surprise myself and answer, “Law.” With partial sarcasm, I’d say, “Construction crane insurance agent,” because an insurance executive once told me “that’s where all …
SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 – Yesterday, my wife and I picked up our granddaughter from kindergarten. I learned that early birds arrive at the head of the line. I doubt that this saves time, since early birds wait longer before the bell rings and later birds wait longer after the bell. Other factors apply, such as …