Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MAY 10, 2021 – Walk with me here . . . Early yesterday evening as I was returning from my “hill climbs” in Little Switzerland, the reclining sun played with my imagination. Backlighting nascent leaves, splashing across greening yards, and casting playful shadows onto westward facing walls, sun beams worked their magic. Magic, I thought. …
MAY 9, 2021 – If only I’d read about Anna Jarvis, the force behind Mother’s Day in the U.S., before I bought my wife a card and big present! I’ll explain in a bit, but first, a bit o’ history. Ms. Jarvis first celebrated Mother’s Day after her own beloved mother died in 1905. The …
MAY 8, 2021 – When our neighbor John wandered over to the Red Cabin last weekend, my wife asked him if he was keeping himself busy. After a deep sigh, he said, “I’ve probably got over a hundred projects underway.” For John, that was no exaggeration. After chatting awhile, he jumped back on his trail …
MAY 7, 2021 – Before heading for the Red Cabin yesterday, I decided to give the yard a quick haircut. As I pushed the mower to the front, a lawn service guy hired by the next-door neighbors approached along the boundary. I greeted him, and he responded in kind. After a couple of rows of …
MAY 6, 2021 – I know most people are disgusted by ticks. I too wish ticks weren’t part of nature, though I know they’re part of the “grand tapestry” of life on earth. But . . . a little past midnight one night, a wood tick caused uncontrollable laughter. When our kids were very young, …
MAY 5, 2021 – Anyone who’s been following the news lately knows that the Republican Party is about to hang one of its own—Liz Cheney, Chairperson of the House Republican Conference. I’m speaking figuratively, of course, though the images of January 9 still haunt my thoughts. Somehow, I think the crazies who chanted “Hang Mike …
MAY 4, 2021 – Yesterday on my hike inside “Little Switzerland,” I cut a beeline off the bend of a border street, down a steep slope, and across the eighth tee. Recent rains had brought out “a bunch of ants”—my pre-ant education terminology—as revealed by multiple, unmistakable “ant foxholes” dotting the tee—as it were. As …
MAY 3, 2021 – The weather was gloomy—low, dark overcast, with intermittent rain—as I “flew” home from the Red Cabin early yesterday evening. Most of the 137-mile journey over “Thoughtland” is along two-lane, rural highways through northwestern Wisconsin. I’ll say I’ve taken the trip a thousand times, just to ensure understatement of the number. Yet, …
MAY 2, 2021 – Yesterday brought the annual spring plague of gnats at the Red Cabin—not tiny gnats but mosquito-pretenders, with long fuselages, and noisy propellers. In swarm formations, they sound like the entire Luftwaffe re-enacting the Battle for Britain. These ugly critters assemble in hovering clouds, first next to the bench swing where you’d …
MAY 1, 2021 – Today, “May Day” (not to be confused with the pilot’s distress call, derived from “m’aidez!”), is when you were supposed to hang a homemade May basket, filled with candy, on the outside door handle of your girlfriend’s house, hit the doorbell, and run as the girl chased you down for a …
APRIL 30, 2021 – Yesterday morning I hit the road for the Red Cabin. Beth arrives tomorrow, when local temps are forecast to hit 79F. I fled early to stake out planting areas for the several dozen, two- and three-year birch, balsam, and hemlock seedings I have on order—more trees to join the hundreds of …
APRIL 29, 2021 – In his first 100 days as president, Biden’s proving to be more than a caretaker just bidin’ time. He’s an activist president with an ambitious policy agenda. So far, the wind’s been at his back, but given the clown act he follows, “looking good”—or at least “normal”—is a low threshold. I …
APRIL 28, 2021 – Over 19 months have passed since I’ve flown. Since I was 12, that’s the longest I’ve been grounded. When I do fly again, I’m sure the details of air travel will come flooding back, just as reality fills the room when I wake up from a very deep sleep. One detail: …
APRIL 27, 2021 – Hardly a day goes by, it seems, when we’re not confronted by some confounding denial of truth—that you-know-who, for example, lost his bid for re-election as president; or the January 6 attack on the capitol was led by anti-you-know-who forces to discredit you-know-who. Within that explanation you realize it carries a …
APRIL 26, 2021 – Besides “fixing” the electoral system, Republicans want to “fix” school curricula critical of American history. Both initiatives are inherently racist—the former because its intended effect is suppression of Democratic Black voters; the latter because it seeks to downplay our record of racial injustice. Republicans say it’s “unpatriotic” to criticize our history—a …
APRIL 25, 2021 – Last night we watched Stowaway on Netflix. The estimated cost: $6 billion. No, not our Texas-style “bundled” cable/internet subscription for April because of cold weather without regulation of utilities. And no, not the actual production budget for the film. Six billion is the estimated cost (according to the internet) of sending …
APRIL 24, 2021 – Yesterday brought another “first-in-a-year”: practicing violin with my pianist collaborator, Sally. Though she and her husband, Don, plus friends Liz and Perry, and my wife and I had visited via Zoom a time ago, I’d not seen Sally—or Don—in person in over a year, let alone inside their old, beautiful St. …
APRIL 23, 2021 – Yesterday evening, for the first time in over a year, we entered a house that was not our own. Stranger yet, we counted among six people—two of my three sisters, two brothers-in-law, my wife and I (all of us fully vaccinated). Each of us savored the occasion. We hadn’t been together …
APRIL 22, 2021 – Amidst our rancor and failures, we need to remind ourselves that we’ve also wrought wondrous works. Yesterday evening I stumbled upon an example of such works: a bayan played by Ukrainian super-star, Aleksandr Hrushevich. As an expert at being ignorant, I’d never before heard of the “bayan” (not to be confused …
APRIL 21, 2021 – We Twin Citians are relieved by The Verdict. Many call it “accountability,” not “justice.” It can’t bring back George Floyd, Jr. It can’t expunge generations of evil. But it marks a new beginning. Just ahead of The Verdict, I drove to George Floyd Square, 15 minutes from our house. Mostly journalists …
APRIL 20, 2021 – Today my bigger sis Elsa turns a big number. I say “bigger,” because we both have a “biggest” sister (see 4/11/21), each of whom is “big” when it comes to brains and beauty, though not in physical stature. Even if Elsa were my junior, she’d still be my superior. She always …
APRIL 19, 2021 – From 1897 through 2019, the Boston Marathon was held on Patriot’s Day—April 19 (after 1968, the third Monday in April). This year the traditional date coincides with the third Monday in April, though thanks to Covid, the race will run in October. I “ran Boston” five times, but my first—1978—was most …
APRIL 18, 2021 – Most “lake people” nowadays have a light-weight aluminum dock installed by easy-to-manage sections or by its own big wheels mounted under the front. In either case, most lacustrian dwellers hire out the task to a friendly, local service for a not-so-friendly fee. I don’t know of any research into the possible …
APRIL 17, 2021 – Yesterday, as my wife and I headed out of town for the Red Cabin, she read aloud from her newsfeed. This fueled an intense discussion about The Trial and The Latest Shooting. We speculated about reaction to next week’s verdict in The Trial. Will Minneapolis—the central part of which is already …
APRIL 16, 2021 – Yesterday I watched the clip of Dr. Fauci’s exchange with Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH). My skepticism about our national beliefs crystalized into acute fear. After centuries in the making, our country has come down to this—a debate between crass wrestling coach vs. erudite science teacher. The wrestling coach is no stranger …