Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JULY 6, 2021 – As I write (evening of July 5), some neighborhood kid reminds me that the Fourth was only yesterday. His leftover “Whistling Poppers” (I’m making up the name) sound like they’re landing on our front doorstep. I trust that his parents will soon restore peace—assuming they aren’t the ones disturbing it. In …
JULY 5, 2021 – When I stand at the end of our dock on a clear night, I see a gazillion stars overhead—many, light years away. I also see dozens of lights on the opposite shore. From my perspective, the various magnitudes of shore lights are indistinguishable from the celestial ones. Yesterday evening we took …
JULY 4, 2021 – Every country needs one—an “Independence Day,” “Victory over Evil Day,” or “Big Thing to Commemorate Day,” when every citizen, clinically crazy or not, can light off every conceivable kind of sound-and-light device, from a Black Cat firecracker to a whole pyrotechnical display audible and visible miles away. Who cares about speeches, …
JULY 3, 2021 – My 05/15/21 post was entitled, “The Happiest Day in (This) Guy’s Life”—the day our new boat lift was relocated so that our new boat would float on and off the bunks. Now let me tell you about the saddest day in (this) guy’s life: the day before the biggest weekend of …
JULY 2, 2021 – I love Mother Nature—her beautiful sights and sounds in infinite varieties. But to my affections she’s indifferent. Even when I shower her with praise and adoration, she rains on my parade or, alternatively, refuses to rain when my tree garden needs it most. It was in the tree garden yesterday where …
JULY 1, 2021 – If ever there were a thoroughly Shakespearean character who occupied center stage of the grand drama of American politics, it was Lyndon Baines Johnson. I’d never liked the man. When I was a kid, my elders were staunch Republicans, which disqualified him right there, but as I acquired a brain of …
JUNE 30, 2021 – My wife and I possess the good fortune of having architects among our friends, even relatives. Members of other professions number among our friends and relatives too, but architects are in a special group. They’re “practical artists.” Back in the good ol’ days, architects actually had to draw—with hand-held instruments—and build …
JUNE 29, 2021 – Yesterday at noon I turned on our kitchen TV, selected CNN, and fixed myself a chicken sandwich. In his signature monotone, Wolf Blitzer led off from the site of the condo collapse in Florida. After 10 minutes, I realized there was no other news. As I reflected on the horrific story …
JUNE 28, 2021 – I met Matt in ancient times when I worked for a large bank and in that capacity needed his outside-firm legal services (real estate; environmental law). Over the years that followed, we became good friends. Until last week, I’d last seen Matt when just before the pandemic lockdown he dropped off …
JUNE 27, 2021 – On Saturday we took friends on a cruise aboard our pontoon. We “steamed” across the lake, then putted along the “Barbary Coast” before heading for the islands in the southwest corner. As we passed by the small, public campsite on the south end of Observation Island, we saw two large tents …
JUNE 26, 2021 – While listening to the radio broadcast of yesterday’s sentencing hearing in the murder case of George Floyd, Jr., I recalled the horror of his death and the aftermath—the rioting, burning, and looting, some of it unnervingly close to our own neighborhood. Hopeful souls say, “His life mattered,” and truly, it did, …
JUNE 25, 2021 – Today I take time out from the highfalutin about the state of the world to talk about down-to-earth daily living on our dog-eat-dog planet. Before I get too high-minded about low-slogging, however, I should issue a disclaimer: I’m not always as well-mannered as I was on the subject occasion. Nevertheless, the …
JUNE 24,2021 – (Cont.) “Once you pay,” Steve said, “go directly to DPS (department of public safety) four blocks away, and for 20 bucks, your son can get his license re-instated immediately.” I wondered what Steve knew about the bloody history of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. Instead, I thanked Steve—too …
JUNE 23, 2021 – Sunday evening, our son Cory (with five-and-a-half-year-old daughter) was pulled over. No one except the cop knows why she ran Cory’s plates, but in the process she learned that his license had been suspended three months ago. Cory called me to say, “I have a slight emergency.” Based on the prospect …
JUNE 22, 2021 – Back in eighth grade algebra, to pass a test with 100 problems you had to score at least 61. To ace the test you had to hit 90 or above. Seventy to 79 got you a “C,” meaning your grasp of concepts was sketchy—putting at risk your entire GPA and life’s …
JUNE 21, 2021 – Yesterday we returned from a quiet, pleasant weekend at the Red Cabin, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature. Our time up there always has a calming effect and helps put the noise and nonsense of “civilization” into perspective. Soon after arriving home, however, we returned to Alice in Wonderland—first …
JUNE 20, 2021 – In WW II my father-in-law was stationed aboard the Moonlight Maid guarding the Aleutians. I know the name, because a large envelope bearing my father-in-law’s name was addressed “c/o” the ship. Inside the envelope were several sheets of “onion skin,” the first entitled, “CALL TO STATIONS.” It listed lifeboat assignments. “Robert …
JUNE 19, 2021 – Don’t tread on me . . . with your gun fetish. Hunt all you want (with your registered rifle and firearm safety classes) and skeet shoot until you drop (likewise, with a registered firearm and adequate instruction), but don’t think that because you’re obsessed with your “right to bear arms,” I’m …
JUNE 18, 2021 – Today is our 38th anniversary, but who’s counting? Actually, when you stop counting, years accelerate, and one day you wake up to a number that’s significantly more than half the years of your life (so far). The story of how and where we met and married is as good as any. …
JUNE 17, 2021 – On Tuesday, FoxNews “personalities” excoriated Biden for being “weak on Russia.” Huh? Rewind the tape and watch You-Know-Who reveal his weakness. If ever there was a time to cringe, all bells rang when the Dolt-in-Chief said (in so many words) in Helsinki, “My people tell me Russia did bad things, so …
JUNE 16, 2021 – Over the weekend I was visiting with my sister and brother-in-law while sitting in front of the family cabin. Our perch atop the pine-guarded bank that rises sharply from the north shore of the lake afforded a wide-angle view of the water, shimmering from sun and wind. Suddenly the wind changed …
JUNE 15, 2021 – In one of my dreamworlds, I’m an “as-long-as-I-want-to-be-professor-at-large” at some small, leafy, liberal arts college in a quiet New England town. I design my courses, decide my class times, and select my students. I’m assigned a small office on the third floor of a creaky, original academic building—a room lined with …
JUNE 14, 2021 – Until recently, I’ve slogged through life with a load of envy. Whenever I encountered some highly talented musician or artist, I’d say to self, “Gee, I wish I could play like that!” or “Wow! I sure wish I could paint!” Possessing neither the talent nor discipline to emulate an artist—musical or …
JUNE 13, 2021 – I want to be two things when I grow up: 1. Airline pilot; and 2. Sea captain. Meanwhile, I’m in training. My car works as an airplane, and I drive as if I’m a student pilot. This brings me pleasure at the same time it improves my concentration. On the water, …
JUNE 12, 2021 – Yesterday while sitting on our dock, my wife and I spotted an eagle catching a thermal. I kept my eye on the bird to see how high it would fly, how far it would glide, and ultimately . . . what it would eat for dinner. Eagles in our neck of …