Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 28, 2025 – In brief residence in the home of our two-year-old grandson, I’m impressed by the library of children’s books that surround him. More to the point, I’m envious: half the books are in French and half are in English, which reflects his bilingual language development. The kid’s parents, as well has his …
NOVEMBER 26, 2025 – Weeks in advance we’d been informed that Tuesday would be “Grandparents Day” at our two-year-old grandson’s school. I envisioned joining a cast of thousands for a royal tour, a review of recent art projects, and a full raft of presentations and demonstrations greeted by a robust round of applause, followed by …
NOVEMBER 25, 2025 – As we settle in for Thanksgiving week at our son/daughter-in-law’s home, I’m reminded how household stuff accumulates—yard and garden tools and machinery in the garage; furniture and furnishings in every room; toys galore—big, small, and everything in between—in the “bonus room”-turned-toddler’s dreamland of toys; closets—don’t open the doors or you won’t …
NOVEMBER 7, 2025 – Just when I was searching for a topic for today’s post, one was handed to me on a proverbial silver platter, nicely polished, served by a butler in full livery. The delicacy on the platter can be best described by way of a simple mini-play with the working title, Actually Ashley. …
OCTOBER 28, 2025 – Thankfully, I’m not an alcoholic, but I’ve known people who are, and from what little I’ve learned about their struggles, I’ve heard it said that “once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic”; that at every AA meeting, participants in recovery announce themselves by name, followed by the phrase, “and I’m an alcoholic.” …
OCTOBER 19, 2025 – (Cont.) I’m sure I could’ve coaxed some meaningful cash out of Timothy in exchange for what was a work of shop art. In the moment, however, I decided to let him have it, gratis. In the first place, no one in the family would ever use the bulky machine, and eventually, …
OCTOBER 18, 2025 – Blogger’s note: The third and final installment of the series, “Seeing the Past in the Present” will be posted tomorrow. I’ve heard it said that we live in news and information silos in which we’re fed a steady diet of our own unwavering opinions; that we need to step out of …
OCTOBER 17, 2025 – (Cont.) At exactly the appointed time, an older burgundy RAM-Tough pick-up pulling a small trailer pulled up to the cabin. Out stepped a couple of guys from the reservation. The driver introduced himself as “Timothy,” with whom I’d spoken twice by phone to make arrangements. His handshake exuded confidence and character. …
OCTOBER 16, 2025 – Today the past was the present. By way of background, late this morning I drove up to the Red Cabin/Björnholm to meet a prospective buyer of miscellaneous old equipment that has been parked/stored at Björnholm for years beyond accurate count by anyone in the family. My brother-in-law Chuck had tentatively sold …
OCTOBER 8, 2025 – Back in the day I used darts, not dice, to decide when to take the boat(s) out of the lake at the end of the season. Beginning in mid-September I’d simply keep my eye on the weekend weather forecast and a few days in advance of a Saturday or Sunday with …
OCTOBER 7, 2025 – Over the years I’ve met numerous interesting people who live along my walking route to and from “Little Switzerland.”[1] With some of these folks I’ve enjoyed extensive conversations about a host of subjects. One standout is a fellow, Phillip, eight years my senior, whose house is on the “Matterhorn” overlooking the …
OCTOBER 6, 2025 – Today in accordance with our Monday routine, our fourth grader granddaughter came to our house after school for her weekly online (Zoom) drawing class, followed by a simple supper before her dad picked her up on his way home from work. She’s always such delightful company. As we enjoyed our meal …
SEPTEMBER 13, 2025 – My wife was in a funk today, mostly over the state of the country. She’d been in funksville—as many of us were—even before the shooting(s), but gun violence in America is a chronic condition for which an antidote eludes us. I managed to escape funksville today, thanks to some random encounters …
SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 – This morning I glanced at the usual news from crazy town and immediately deflected it by resuming work on my latest in-town construction project: a giant mobile easel for our oldest son’s vehicular window tinting business. He hopes to resume the enterprise after a long hiatus due to health concerns. He …
AUGUST 1, 2025 – Today I found amusement by being in two worlds at once on my way to the woods. Let me explain . . . Last week I’d arranged to meet with a Wisconsin DNR forester for an extended site visit of Björnholm, or at least a portion of it, to gain some …
JULY 30, 2025 – The time was exactly 5:00. I’d already been on the road for close to an hour, foiled by three long construction-related slowdowns on my way to a 5:00 dental cleaning appointment with Michelle, my über-hygienist at Boger Dental on the far side of town. The trip normally takes half an hour. …
JULY 9, 2025 – A few days ago our clothes dryer quit drying. The machine was old enough that it didn’t owe us much, but before we leaped at the chance to replace it with a costly new machine, my spouse did the sensible thing and arranged for a $99 service call to obtain a …
JULY 3, 2025 – (Cont.) On the next-to-last day of our annual June visit to Connecticut, we adopted a turtle’s pace, in large part because of the extreme heat, but also because the day was given over to our young grandchildren. They were perfectly content at the local small municipal swimming beach; no long drive …
JUNE 26, 2025 – When you’re in Connecticut, people refer to Gotham not as “New York City” but simply as “the city.” I’ve never encountered this reference in writing, so I don’t know if it’s capitalized, but when I say it or hear it, I always think of it as capitalized, given the size and …
MAY 8, 2025 – Although I’m a long-time “dirt” lawyer, as real estate attorneys call one another, eons have passed since I last did my own tract search of a piece of property. We dirt lawyers rely on title insurance companies to undertake that effort in conjunction with examination of title. But today I needed …
MAY 7, 2025 -Normally, Azerbaijan isn’t anywhere close to Falcon Heights, Minnesota, but this morning I encountered the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan (at one time part of Caucasian Albania[1]) at the geographic center of North America, a million miles from the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea, where you’d ordinarily find the modern …
MARCH 14, 2025 – One aspect of life that I enjoy with special relish is how random thoughts and encounters can lead to an especially satisfying outcome. It’s a bit like picking greens and wildflowers along a pathway, then discovering that when you stick them into a vase and tug and pull a bit, you …
MARCH 6, 2025 – Today I left the Big City and winged my way over the Big Storm back to Big Lake Country. Yesterday evening I’d developed mild apprehension when reading the blizzard warning that NOAA (“Go, NOAA!”) for Minnesota overnight and into today: heavy snow, low visibility, and 40 mph winds with gusts up …
FEBRUARY 14, 2025 – “It’s about another mile down the road,” said Cory, as we continued along Concord Boulevard south of the exit off I494. If I’d ever before driven down this route through an old and worn part of the Twin Cities, it was eons ago. Our destination was “1st Class Auto Sales” along …
NOVEMBER 21, 2024 – Today I had to turn inward, away from the public square back to the workbench of my figurative second floor shop with its windows overlooking the public space. Of course, except for a few characters who reside in the public zone every waking moment—engaged in various forms of theater and theatrics—most …