Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 1, 2024 – Allow me to kick back for a moment and savor the thought that not only will the Duly Defeated soon fade from the national consciousness, but for the first time America will elect a woman as president. As if that alone isn’t cause for celebration, we’ll be in bonus territory in …
OCTOBER 30, 2024 – Today I went to a doctor’s appointment. For the first time in a decade (when my parents were alive), it wasn’t on my own account. The patient was a severely ailing family member, however, and for months my wife and I had been working on getting him to today’s appointment. By …
OCTOBER 29, 2024 – After watching/listening to vice president’s uplifting campaign speech this evening, I was schooled by our older son, who also heard Harris’s rallying cry. Cory himself is not voting for Trump, but he understands why a lot of men—regardless of race—are Trump supporters. I realized that if I wanted to understand better, …
AUGUST 23, 2024 – It was a yowzer; I mean the DNC—attended by the most unified, most jazzed up, most diverse delegates to a Democratic National Convention I’ve ever witnessed. In what is surely a harbinger of victory, at the conclusion of KAMA-la’s rousing acceptance speech last night, a veritable torrent of 18 gazillion red-white-and-blue …
AUGUST 5, 2024 – As with many a plan that goes awry, its derailment or alternative can often produce a serendipitous result. Having booked a stateroom aboard the R.M.S. Titanic, for example, a couple misses the ship’s departure, and lo and behold, they get to avoid swimming with the icebergs. Or in my largely unremarkable …
JUNE 26, 2024 – It seems that whenever we get together with friends, we wind up trading recommendations for series on streaming services. “Have you seen ______________?” someone will ask, opening the trading session. “No, but I’ve heard it’s really good,” says someone else. “Is it on Netflix?” “Hulu.” “We’re into season three of ______________,” …
JUNE 5, 2024 – Back in the day when I was a compulsive runner and x-c skier, I didn’t think much during the thousands of hours I spent pounding the pavement or striding relentlessly down the track. The physical demands were too intense to allow for anything but focus on pace or . . . …
JUNE 1, 2024 – This morning in my self-quarantine at the Red Cabin, I received a call from my sister Jenny. She was on a stroll—no, at her customary gait, it was a power walk—through Central Park across the street from her and her husband’s Upper West Side abode. “How’s your cold?” she asked. “I’m …
MAY 27, 2024 – This time of year is “birthday week” for our two sons, Cory (May 23) and Byron (May 27). When Cory turned one, 37 years ago, I started the tradition of writing, then reading aloud, a birthday letter, which summarized highlights of the previous year and imparted encouragement for the year ahead. …
MAY 23, 2024 – (Cont.) Menard’s, Lowe’s, and Home Depot have become emporia selling everything a person needs to build a house and fill it wall-to-wall from the basement floor to the attic rafters, with all the props and fittings known to the Great American consumer. And every single item that fills one of these …
MAY 22, 2024 – These days you have to ask yourself—what is America? A crazy place? A terribly bad place? A wonderfully good place? A country about to push itself over the edge of a precipice? The most resilient nation on earth, still destined to be . . . dare I say it . . …
MAY 3, 2024 – Among my favorite children’s books when our sons were young were the Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel. I enjoyed the illustrations, the writing, and the story lines. The books experienced a revival in our home when our eight-year-old granddaughter reached reading age. They are certain to be enjoyed as …
MARCH 25, 2024 – All of us have days of gray, colored that way by one thing or another in our lives; sometimes by a whole palette of troubles that cloud out light and warmth. Today was such a day for me and many others who in these parts battled seasonal sickness compounded by ugly …
MAY 9, 2023 – Late this month, Brown University will confer honorary doctorate degrees on six Americans of distinction. Among them will be the inimitable Ruth Oppenheim. I first met Ruth during college. Her son, Jeff, a close friend of mine, had invited me to stay with the family in Barrington, Rhode Island over Thanksgiving …
MAY 5, 2023 – Today we were among the honored guests at a most resplendent affair. Food and drink were of the finest quality; the music—of Latin temperament—was well chosen and masterfully rendered; the attendees were neither too few nor too numerous to provide a steady flow of scintillating conversation; and the whole celebration was …
APRIL 21, 2023 – The problem with being in the same boat as everyone else, is you can’t complain. So much as a grunt marks you as a grump, and who wants to be rowing against that reputation? You have only two options: howling in private or bailing out of the boat. If you howl …
APRIL 19, 2023 – I remember the moment. It occurred as I left Mr. Trepte’s classroom at the end of a session in which he’d handed back exam papers. I’d studied hard for the math test, since it counted significantly toward the final grade, and my efforts were handsomely rewarded. Feeling good about how this …
APRIL 14, 2023 – The world is a beautiful place because it’s full of beautiful people, many of whom I encountered today. They provided me with befitting material to mark the fourth anniversary of this daily blog. The stream of encounters began with a call this morning from my good friend, Linda Hoeschler, whose late …
APRIL 13, 2023 – Yesterday afternoon after I brought Illiana home from school, she grabbed her scooter, donned her helmet and celebrated freedom by zooming full-tilt down the sidewalk. Inspired by her carefree spirit, I followed, luxuriating in the hot zephyr as it overwhelmed the last vestiges of winter. She was headed for the playground …
APRIL 12, 2023 – Today the Shelby County (think Memphis, TN) Commission unanimously reappointed Justin Pearson to the state house of representatives. Few people outside Shelby County had heard of Mr. Pearson before the 28-year-old Black man, along with another young Black man and fellow representative, Justin Jones, had been expelled from the legislative body. …
APRIL 11, 2023 – On this part of the planet, in many years we often skip spring and go directly from winter to summer. That seems to be the case this year. Just a week ago last Saturday, we woke up to another seven inches of snow on what was already a record amount of …
APRIL 8, 2023 – The snow was already soft by the time I got underway with one load of gear for the slog to the car parked a mile away. From there, the paved roads were mostly clear, but already, the twisting, undulating back roads were so checkered with potholes, I drove as if I …
APRIL 6, 2023 – (Cont.) After a late lunch, Illiana repaired to her “artist’s corner” of our house, where her old-fashioned school desk is surrounded by drawing materials, well organized by her grandmother. She designed a thank-you card out of writing and construction paper, which Beth helped glue together. The artwork on the cover and …
APRIL 5, 2023 – (Cont.) As the directors of food and hunt prize procurements helped Fred pack up the surpluses, the director of communications, pulled me aside. I’d noticed her activity in the thick of the extravaganza but hadn’t had a chance to greet her. “Hi, Eric,” she said. “You might not remember me, but …
APRIL 4, 2023 – (Cont.) Since the big Easter Egg Hunt was scheduled for late Saturday morning, Illiana stayed overnight with us Friday, though she and her parents live only six miles away. As fortune would have it, however, a major March-end lion roared across our region Friday evening, leaving in its angry wake a …