Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MAY 10, 2020 – Yesterday was Mom’s Day, so I couldn’t much talk about Dad, who’d died a decade ago yesterday. For the first year after his death, I dreamt about him every single night. Then, consistent with the tradition of so many cultures, my one-year of mourning was completed. Dad’s nightly appearance in my …
MAY 8, 2020 – On the 75th Anniversary of V-E Day, I wonder: should I think of “V-E” as “Victory in Europe” and dwell upon its lessons or . . . should I view today as “Very Easy” and live obliviously? If like Simon the Simpleton I don’t care about the portents of history and …
MAY 7, 2020 – I’ve lost track of the days, let alone hours, I’ve spent on my Garage Clean-up Project—not to mention the times I’ve cited it on this blog. I’m so deep into the project I’ll suffer the bends if I emerge too quickly. Apparently garage clean-ups and clean-outs have become the new norm. …
MAY 6, 2020 – I write this from the back porch, where I can see the slow, then sudden progress of spring in this part of the world—the greening of the grass, a small insurgency of dandelions, blossom buds on the neighbor’s apple tree, lilacs showing visual hints of future fragrance, small tender leaves emerging …
MAY 5, 2020 – The most influential book of my life is If I Ran the Circus by Dr. Seuss. This book still fires my imagination as no other . . . literature . . . does. The story: A happy-go-lucky kid named Morris McGurk plays by the high, rickety, wooden fence surrounding a vacant …
APRIL 26, 2020 – Recently, down our alley I encountered our hotshot lawyer-neighbor sweeping furiously his garage floor—and immersing himself in a cloud of dust. I imagined him trying to destroy a hostile witness on cross-ex(amination). I also imagined my grandfather disapproving the way Mr. Hotshot was handling the broom. Born in 1895 Grandpa Holman …
APRIL 25, 2020 – Feeling outraged that America’s led by a village idiot, I think about this day in Portugal in 1974. That’s when the military initiated the largely bloodless “Carnation Revolution”—named so because citizens stuck carnations into rifle barrels of soldiers guarding the streets. It signaled the end of Estado Novo—the “New State”—under the …
APRIL 24, 2020 – Recently, Minnesota Governor Walz (one of America’s great governors) cautiously modified his “stay in place” order and allowed golf courses to open—but with appropriate restrictions aimed at The Virus. As a result, “Little Switzerland,” the hilly golf course where I hike/ski daily, is now crawling with golfers. Before the “stay put …
APRIL 22, 2020 – Besides my daily excursion to the “mountains” of “Little Switzerland” (a local golf course), I take daily walks in the opposite direction. The route leads down our quiet block and the next, past a small park and to the edge of what I call the Ruhr Valley—in reality a busy route …
APRIL 20, 2020 – In these upside-down times, explanations abound as to which way is up and which is down; the differences among black, white, and gray; that “up” is “down,” green is red, and black is bad. Math, anti-math, math models, science, non-science, news, “fake news,” fake “fake news,” and information—baked, half-baked, misperceived, misstated, …
APRIL 19, 2020 – Last night I reached episode 45 (of 60) in my binge-watch of the Netflix series, Bolívar. As with most any film treatment of historical figures, Bolívar includes much material that opens the work to criticism by historians—everything from inaccurate details to over-emphasized character strengths to under-stated character weaknesses to politically motivated …
APRIL 17, 2020 – Yesterday evening my book club gathered via Zoom. Up for discussion was The Plague by French existentialist author, Albert Camus, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize for literature. It had been selected by the physician of our group, the inimitable Ravi Balasubrahmanyan. (Decades ago, I learned to spell his name by …
APRIL 16, 2020 – As the world struggles with The Virus, we’re learning that the spread of an invisible, highly contagious pathogen is as big a threat to humans as humans are to humans. But this attention-grabbing contagion is doing lots more than making people sick. It’s revealing in stark fashion many of the flaws …
APRIL 14, 2020 – Today marks the one-year anniversary of my blog. This is my 337th posting—so far. (The “missing” entries were from a two-week wedding sojourn in Portugal last June and another fortnight wedding extravaganza (same matrimonial couple) stateside in August.) At 500-words per post, the total wordage piles up to 168,500 (not counting …
APRIL 12, 2020 – When I peered out the window this morning, I was happy to see daylight, but unhappy that the sun was hiding behind a thick overcast. As a skiing fanatic, I was happy to see snow on the ground. As a rationale adult I was unhappy to see snow on the ground. …
APRIL 2, 2020 – Raise your hand if you want to live in a country where decades after Stalin’s excesses had been suffered by millions and revealed to millions more, people would demonstrate their adoration of the man by posting his portrait publicly, ringed with flowers. Or signal approval if you’d wanted to live in …
MARCH 31, 2020 – This morning during my daily glance the headlines, I saw one that said The Contagion will peak in Wisconsin (next-door) on May 22. Would that it will be! Thus far, I’ve learned a lot of new things. If May 22 is the regional peak, we have about 100 days before we’re …
MARCH 30, 2020 – If anyone resides in heaven, it’s Mary “Manna” Ibele, a dear old family friend. She died a week ago at 95 after a wonderful life, full of love for all that’s good in the world. I last saw Manna and Warren, her husband of 72 years, two years ago at a …
MARCH 29, 2020 – Pandemic. It’s as old as civilization. And how about civilization? We’re making it up as we go along. Viewed optimistically, it’s a record of progress. Seen pessimistically, it’s a descent into inevitable self-extinction. Evidence abounds for each perspective. I believe, however, that the more accurate depiction of the human record is …
MARCH 27, 2020 – We’re in the thick of it. The virus brings abject fear, grim statistics, disturbing images. I’m told stress can reduce one’s ability to produce antibodies—ironically, a suggestion that adds to stress. I’m striving to reduce stress by reducing exposure to the news. I’ve quit The Times. I’ve stopped watching cable and …
MARCH 25, 2020 – Lately I’ve pondered what my grandparents would’ve said about the current crisis. They were born in the early 1890s and lived to advanced ages, topped by my maternal grandmother, who died at 100. They lived through many cataclysms, but as far as I could tell, were none the worse for wear. …
MARCH 25, 2020 – When I was a student (in ancient times) of ancient times, one standout was Alexander the Great. There was a guy who studied at the feet of Aristotle, then at my age as a college junior, became king on his way to becoming a conqueror, and ultimately “Great,” all by the …
MARCH 23, 2020 – For years, whenever I observed over-indulgence—on my part or by others—I thought of the future book about our profligate ways. The working title: They Ate Well. I thought of the irony in “well,” since many Americans suffer from myriad ailments because of oversized portions of unhealthful food, but the more accurate …
MARCH 21, 2020 – When our sons were cub scouts, I volunteered to be co-leader of our younger son’s “den” of “cubs,” who, being eight-years old, resembled more a dray of squirrels. For a den meeting landing on President’s Day, we hatched the idea that one of the tall dads would dress up like Lincoln and …
MARCH 19, 2020 – FIRST, A TRIGGER WARNING: An anti-Trump rant! Not decades ago when I first learned about Trump, was I impressed by the man. When in my banking days I learned about his financial disasters—long before they were broadly publicized—I developed wariness about him. When he hatched his groundless “birther” hoax against Obama, …