Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JULY 16, 2020 – Ever since 63 million Americans cast their votes for a person who, in my 60+ years’ experience of gauging people, was utterly and patently ill-suited for any position of authority or responsibility, I’ve wondered—how can this be? By way of background, I attended school—kindergarten on up. I’ve held a number of jobs …
JULY 11, 2020 – After a week at the Red Cabin I’m feeling safe from humanity. I rarely even skim “the news” and rely on my wife, who reads it, to inform me if the world has in fact gone over the ever-threatening proverbial falls. I must confess, however, that yesterday I glanced at headlines. …
JULY 7, 2020 – On our way to the Red Cabin, we pass through the trim town of Cumberland, Wisconsin, population 2,170. Mom-and-pop stores line Main Street, the sole commercial street in town. At the economic center of town is an old 3M plant across from the high school football field. The most remarkable feature …
JULY 4, 2020 – (Cont.) “Who? I think I don’t know you,” he said. However much my chum might’ve changed physically, he wouldn’t have developed a thick accent. I showed him the photograph and explained why I’d thought he was Dick V. By this time, the woman had approached. By the shape of her mouth …
JULY 3, 2020 – On this cusp of Independence Day, I feel no shame in being American; no more shame than I’d feel imprisoned in a zoo of odd creatures, from a sloth to a turtle to a peacock to a lion to a wolf to a (breast-beating gorilla) to a playful porpoise to an …
JUNE 28, 2020 – If I had 15-minutes with Biden, I’d say: “Joe, you’re in a unique position. You don’t have to worry about the electability of your VP pick. “Polls show you have a commanding lead over Naked Emperor and Sycophant-in-Chief. Doofus Duo will continue to plummet, and you’ll win by a landslide . …
JUNE 25, 2020 – When I started law school, I figured the easiest subject would be “ethics.” I thought I had a solid handle on “right” and “wrong” and would know intuitively such foundational rules as, you can’t lie and you can’t steal from client funds in your firm’s trust account. Little did I appreciate …
JUNE 24, 2020 – I’ve never liked John Bolton, and now I like him less. Burned by the Naked Emperor, he decided to get even instead of mad. What’s “even” does little good. In an interview on the Late Show, Bolton said he wouldn’t vote for Trump in November but wouldn’t vote for Biden either. …
JUNE 23, 2020 – People reacting to the recent rash of statue sackings fall into three groups. First: angry folks pulling down symbols of racism—symbols erected by very white, very dead white . . . women (surprise!) who’d organized themselves in 1894 as the United Daughters of the Confederacy, primarily to build all those statues. …
JUNE 16, 2020 – June’s half over. In 15 days, the year will be half over. Time for three prognostications about the rest of 2020. Two are based on business phone conversations I had yesterday; one turns on recent news stories about Trump. The first conversation was with a banker client of mine. He’s in …
JUNE 15, 2020 – At the Red Cabin we have a TV but only for watching movies the old-fashioned way—via DVDs. But soon after my wife bought a large antique cabinet with doors and mounted the TV inside, we got used to the cabinet and forgot all about the TV. A year ago, though, we …
JUNE 13, 2020 – Covid-19 and the murder of George Floyd, Jr. remind us again that we can’t handle more than two big stories at once. (The economy and the November election are sub-stories of the two main stories.) Actually, one big story: Covid-19 is hanging in there by the string of a face mask …
JUNE 12, 2020 – I’m grateful for my Trump-supporting clients. They bring out the better angels of my nature, and perhaps this rapport models how our nation might avoid wholesale rupture. There is no magic to my conversations; no special formula, no complicated blueprint. Just two things: 1. Money; and 2. Mutual respect. First, the …
JUNE 11, 2020 – Wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure—a high pressure system battling it out with a low; or when two people with sharply contrasting opinions have a shout-out. Yesterday brought a lot of wind to our neck of the woods. Oops! Bad choice of words. I meant “golf course.” After escaping …
JUNE 10, 2020 – . . . young kids will still ask long before the halfway mark of a long road-trip. Likewise, two weeks into the post-George Floyd, Jr. era, we white-liberals behind the wheel can’t help but ask the same: “Are we there yet” in ending our nation’s legacy of discrimination? It’s the inevitable …
JUNE 8, 2020 – As the train of justice hurtles down the track and we privileged folks decide whether to (a) jump aboard; (b) jump out of the way; or (c) get run over, I must sing the praises of the baked potato. The track isn’t smooth, so in walking through the carriages toward the …
JUNE 7, 2020 – If relaxed curfews now allow us to catch our collective breath, we’re not out of the woods yet. We might well be facing more serious danger ahead—too little reform too late; another case of overt police brutality; some other flashpoint, starting with the prosecution of the four Minneapolis cops. All four …
JUNE 6, 2020 – On the way to our cabin recently, we saw a huge, road-side sign that read, “HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.” Honestly, the sign didn’t remind me of today–the anniversary of D-Day, start of the Allied invasion of Normandy to drive Hitler’s Wehrmacht back to Germany; an operation that …
JUNE 3, 2020 – An attorney I know often quotes Voltaire famous line, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” The lawyer’s point: by pressing too hard for perfection, you risk blowing the deal that your client desperately wants. At the same time, you must touch all the bases and home plate to score, …
JUNE 2, 2020 – How will the current chapter of our history read? There’s no script, no pre-determined outcome. There are signs, however, of what could well unfold. Not to sound melodramatic—which means the exact opposite: to sound melodramatic—but current dynamics in our body politic prompt thoughts about revolution. And I’m not thinking ala the …
MAY 31, 2020 – Instead of Netflix over the last three evenings, my wife and I have watched “Riots in the Street,” starring . . . people in the streets. Fortunately, thanks to Governor Walz’s leadership, last night ended differently from the previous two. Exhausted by the ongoing crisis, my wife retired early. I stayed …
MAY 30, 2020 – The charge, trial, sentencing, and execution of a black man—where a single police officer, given free rein by his three fellow officers, served as police, judge, jury, executioner—took mere minutes, end to end. It will now take a collective, herculean effort to tame the beast of chaos. That people outraged by …
MAY 29, 2020 – We live at the center of the Twin Cities, with downtown Minneapolis six miles one way and downtown St. Paul equidistant the opposite way. Yesterday brought more destruction in reaction to the killing of George Floyd. From our back yard amidst bird chatter and spring fragrance we heard the regular wail …
MAY 28, 2020 – Yesterday evening in my chair of privilege I faced the stark, tragic reality of America: Grant’s defeat. Two nights before, Netflix had been acting up, depriving me of my regular fix of The Medicis. I switched to the History Channel and chanced upon a three-part documentary about Ulysses S. Grant, produced …
MAY 27, 2020 – By now everyone’s seen the video of the Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of a cuffed, black man lying in pain on the street. The face of the officer reveals the absence of fear, and as officially reported, the arrestee had been apprehended not for violent crime but because …