Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
DECEMBER 21, 2022 – The temperature on the dashboard of the car read 1F. Honestly, the air hadn’t felt that cold, except when I was skiing into the wind blowing across “Little Switzerland.” The car warmed up quickly, as did the icicles hanging off my face, then dripping and dropping onto my lap. However invigorating …
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 …
AUGUST 21, 2022 – (Cont.) Whenever I enter the U of MN Cancer Center, I’m awed by a number of things, such as the cheerfulness of the mask-monitor-greeters and check-in staff, and . . . who thought of placing a high-end player piano at the top of the “grand stairway” leading from the lobby to …
AUGUST 19, 2022 – (Cont.) Yesterday, calm prevailed in my own little world, however much “wheels-off” was the theme in the larger picture. Occupying the tranquility, but not disturbing it, were numerous exchanges with people who influence my outlook on life and humanity. Caught up in my own hopes, fears, and focus, I’m pulled away to broader …
AUGUST 18, 2022 – (Cont.) By day’s end yesterday, I was an A+ patient. The stem cell harvest produced a bumper crop—over 9 million cells, topping the goal by a million. My sister Jenny calls me a millionaire. Now the orders are in for the next few days: Covid test today—good thing, having woken up …
AUGUST 15, 2022 – (Cont.) Last night I slept like a rock, not because I was exhausted by the day’s interaction with the medical profession, but because of my complete confidence in the care that has been afforded me. Yesterday’s squad—Bridgette, Amber, Kaitlin, May, Annie, Randall, Bella, Laura, Angela, Mariah, plus others whose names went …
AUGUST 14, 2022 – (Cont.) This morning when I arrived at the clinic for my third of five injections in the run-up to the stem-cell “harvest,” street parking was wide open. I luxuriated first by pulling into the slot closest to the entrance to the five-story U of MN Masonic Cancer Care Center. I indulged …
JUNE 7, 2022 – (Cont.) It was entitled generically, An Introduction to Western Classical Music, and I’d composed it, so to speak, off the top of my head after the friend—unfamiliar with much of any classical music but curious about it nonetheless—had asked me for some recommendations. Somewhere I possessed a copy of the essay, …
MAY 26, 2022 – (Cont.) Moderating my frustration with the alien’s interruption was the realization that I’d lost patience and perspective. The possibility remained that the alien(s) would destroy earth after hearing my full exposition on the human condition. Without the restriction of time, however, the alien might let me drone on . . . …
DECEMBER 28, 2021 – Yesterday, I’d just pulled some old journals off my shelf, when friend/neighbor, “K.O.” Paulson stopped by to check on me. I’ve posted about him before—a smart, thoroughly amusing, tough-talking, literary savant/retired honors English teacher, and former baseball/basketball coach, who scouts locally for the Twins. I gave K.O. the current, unvarnished low-down—to …
DECEMBER 8, 2021 – I have a story of our times. I also have a confession of sorts: I’m a FB user, though not in any addictive sort of way. I post pics of our six-year-old granddaughter, who, in her grandparents’ world, is a cutie pie. For those posts, I receive lots of “likes” and …
NOVEMBER 29, 2021 – Yesterday our son and daughter-in-law took us on an excursion between their hometown of Chester and down river to Essex, Connecticut. We took side routes and backroads for a closer look at this old part of New England. Our trip included breakfast at The Whistle Stop café, a cozy, local establishment …
NOVEMBER 28, 2021 – Under clear skies yesterday, winds blew hard. Inside the local coffee shop steam rose from morning java. Through the caffeinated haze I heard stories of power and corruption too delicate for public consumption. Told for my amusement, they revealed the extreme zeal that drives our world. In hearing about crazy behavior, …
NOVEMBER 23, 2021 – Yesterday my wife and I were among the millions of Thanksgiving week air-travelers. From MSP to BDL, we experienced no bumps, not even over the Great Lakes. After a smooth flight, the three-point landing couldn’t have been executed more cleanly. “Nice landing,” I said to the captain as we exited the …
NOVEMBER 21, 2021 – I’ve mentioned him before—our neighbor, “K.O.,” exactly my age, a retired high school honors English teacher, a Twins scout, and a former Republican. Yesterday he joined me on my walk to “Little Switzerland,” where we hiked hills for the equivalent of 41 flights of stairs. Every encounter with K.O. is filled …
NOVEMBER 4, 2021 – I’ve not been a big fan of big sports, though as a kid I was a major fan of major league baseball. In 1965, on my transistor radio I listened to nearly every Twins game and bought baseball cards every other day. By season’s end I knew as much about baseball …
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 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 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 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 _ _ _ …
AUGUT 25, 2021 – Yesterday, while sitting on the porch, working away on my laptop, I espied our neighbor Kent walking past in the alley. Anticipating a profitable diversion from work, I called out to our local curmudgeon. He’s a retired English teacher who’s devoured nearly every piece of American fiction worth reading. He’s also …
AUGUST 23, 2021 – I first cordoned off the crime scene. I accomplished this figuratively, visualizing a “NO GO” zone (except for myself) within a 20-foot radius of the base of the sign. Next, I examined the sign itself for clues. Except for the popped rivets and 90-degree bend in the stake, the sign itself …
JULY 18, 2021 – Deer are a danger. They feast on gardens and new pine shoots, and they’re all too eager to ambush motorists traveling on country roads. Deer total cars, and we see plenty of deer totaled by cars when we drive to the Red Cabin in northwest Wisconsin. One-mile stretch of highway is …
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 …