Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
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 …
SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 – If you’re on the “normal” spectrum during most of your waking hours, the news over the past few years has doubtless left you “not so normal” on any objective scale of psychological conditions. The only antidote besides mind-altering substances is a hard break from “breaking news.” I’m 36 hours into cold-turkey …
SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 – When I hike the trails through my tree garden, I take incremental measures to weed out the prolix, wild raspberry bushes. I love cultivated raspberries and miss the ones that used to grow in our backyard at home. The wild ones, however, are a different animal . . . er, plant. …
SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 – Recently, our friend R_______ found herself in a catch-22 pinch. After undergoing a medical procedure under light sedation, she was told that she could leave the clinic only with a responsible adult but that she’d have to exit within two hours after the procedure. R__________’s designated “responsible adult”—one of her daughters—wasn’t …
SEPTEMBER 11, 2021 – On 9/11 I shared in the universal reaction to horror wrought by extreme misanthropes. Then came the “War on Terror”—a game for which we set the rules: 1. The game has no end; 2. No matter how many points we score, the other side wins by scoring once; and 3. The …
SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 – Recently, in the outdoor seating of Boca Rica, a local Mexican restaurant popular for its authenticity, I heard a remarkable story. While ordering, I wore a bright blue, cloth mask bearing the slogan, Make America Intelligent Again. I’d been invited to lunch by W______, a retired banking client of mine, with …
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 – With Afghanistan dominating headlines lately, when was the last mention of Iraq, Syria or . . . Myanmar? Thanks to the persistent, courageous journalism of one Emily Fishbein, I read and thought about Myanmar quite a lot late on Tuesday. That’s when I received Jeff O’s email containing a link to …
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 – While hiking recently on our “back 40” I encountered a patch of wild strawberries. It reminded me of Wild Strawberries by famous Swedish filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman. I first “experienced” Bergman’s films while I was a student at Interlochen Arts Academy—by name and curricula, an “artsy-fartsy” establishment. It was attended by many students …
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 – On Labor Day I labored on a cabin project. Just as a president would do before giving the green light to a dicey military operation, I gathered intelligence and assembled a 10-point checklist, the last item being, “Wing it.” But as in evacuation after losing a war, s _ _ _ …
SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 – During a woodland walk yesterday in the reaches behind the Red Cabin, my wife and I encountered a formal sign marking the entrance to Grindstone Woods Conservancy, 70-acres of undeveloped land that lie behind us and adjoining property owners along the northwest shore of Grindstone Lake. The sign was crafted by …
SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 – Whenever I hike to the old family cabin, I think about our grandparents, Ragnar and Hilda Nilsson. “Ga,” as we called our grandmother, and Grandpa followed long-established cabin rituals, which fascinated us impressionable kids. Ga came from Småland, a southern province of Sweden. She’d grown up on a farm and attended …
SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 – When Ida unleashed her fury on the Northeast earlier in the week (after wreaking havoc over Louisiana), in just one hour over three inches of rain fell in New York City’s Central Park. This was a record. What I found most disturbing about this is that the record it broke had …
SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 – Late yesterday afternoon, after a day of business and busy-ness, I took to the woods to do some trail work. As the light faded behind an overcast sky, I repaired to the dock and peered at the windswept lake. Not a single boat—underway or stationary—appeared on the water. I scanned the …
SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 – Out of respect for people’s privacy, I’ll refer to the lead characters of this post as “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” They are members of one big unhappy family that used to be happy. I am very well acquainted with each of them. The unhappiness that has descended upon them is …
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 – When I prepared to escape Monday afternoon, I collected what I’d need for a week of isolation at the Red Cabin—food, phone, tools, clothing, computer, et cetera. After 120 miles, however, I remembered what I’d forgotten: my journal and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I felt like an …