Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
JUNE 27, 2024 – Lately I’ve been struck by the sheer volume of consumption for which I alone am responsible. From Chinese take-out to running errands by car to home remodeling projects, not to mention a flight on a commercial aircraft, my lifestyle is one big consumption factory. And I’m hardly the last of the …
JUNE 21, 2024 – Today was arbor day in my little world away from home. Our son and daughter-in-law’s yard was already home to many trees, but two months ago they decided that a magnolia would be an attractive addition. My wife and I happened to be visiting on that occasion and accompanied the expedition …
APRIL 2, 2024 – (Cont.) I also remember the time just before Halloween when I was kicking around the tree farm while Dad worked. I noticed large tufts of long light brown grass that looked like the tops of Viking heads full of thick uncut hair. For the longest time I tried to figure out …
DECEMBER 20, 2023 – At the front end of the day I read a report about how Houthi rebel attacks on commercial oil tankers in the Red Sea could disrupt global oil markets. The result of course, would be higher prices for a key commodity (still), thus giving the Fed little breathing space on the …
MAY 31, 2023 – Late yesterday evening I stepped outside to check on the stars and saw that a few were out, beaming their light down from deep space. I did my usual—picked one I knew wasn’t a planet, called it “Twinkle, Twinkle” and made my wish. At the close of this little ritual of …
MAY 27, 2023 – Recently, while I was hiking the hills of “Little Switzerland,” a golfer in his late 20s called out a greeting to me as he strode from his cart to the tee. An extrovert, he prompted me to respond similarly. I reciprocated and added a passing observation about the late-day improvement in …
MAY 26, 2023 – After paying my dues all morning and into the afternoon, I took a break to take our seven-year-old granddaughter to nearby Como Park, St. Paul’s version of Central Park. She had the day off from school—something about a teachers’ workshop—so her mom had taken her to work at a shop near …
MAY 12, 2023 – Today we made our first trip to the Red Cabin since the snow melt and ice-out. Vegetation here is 10 days to two weeks behind the foliage at home, which itself is well behind its usual schedule. In mid-March the snow was still two feet deep, and that was before the …
MAY 7, 2023 – Friday is garbage pickup day in our fair village. “Garbage,” of course, is “trash talk” for more refined terms describing the same crap: “waste” and “refuse.” I’ve always been amused by civilization’s relationship with its detritus. Anthropologists, for example, treat ancient dump sites as gold mines of information about the societies …
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 …
MARCH 30, 2023 – One of my big beefs with the free market is that pricing fails to take all costs into account; costs such as environmental cleanup expenses and health care costs ensuing from the East Palestine train derailment; the untold costs of EMS units and law enforcement swat teams called into action every …
JANUARY 13, 2023 – My dad was such a devout moderate he was paradoxically extreme. His inspiration might’ve been James Hilton’s classic, Lost Horizons, an old copy of which could be found on the shelves of my parents’ den. As the Buddhist monk in the story explained, “At the monastery we’re extreme in our moderation.” …
NOVEMBER 8, 2022 – Today was a blustery fall day at the Red Cabin. A strong blow out of the southeast whipped the lake into a frenzy and made trees sway without relief. Until João and Joana called from Lisbon late in the morning, I could’ve forgotten it was Election Day (I’d voted early)—our Portuguese …
NOVEMBER 6, 2022 – When the weather is mild, November is a splendid month in the Northwoods. Today the sun brightened the landscape and the wind—gusting past 20 mph—had free rein. Mindful that falling debris could have free rein, as well, I kept eyes and ears peeled for arboreal projectiles. I didn’t go quite as …
JULY 21, 2022 – [Biden stands behind a lectern bearing the presidential seal; a forest fire blazes in the background] “Okay folks, here’s the deal. I don’t care if you call me old or call me slow. I don’t care if you call me Biden or call me Brandon. Like my dad used to tell …
JULY 20, 2022 – I’m finding that the James Webb telescope images of the edge of the universe have radically altered my view of life here on earth. Perhaps that changed perspective is the mission of all “space” exploration. If we earthlings, including the subspecies, homo americanus, get a lot of things “right” . . …
JULY 18, 2022 – Over the weekend, while sitting on our dock, I watched cumulus clouds billowing upward over the lake. Earlier, when our six-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter was doing likewise and seeing dragons and unicorns, she’d asked, “How are clouds made?” I explained that when the earth warms by day, the moist, heated air near the …
NOVEMBER 20, 2021 – Posting a zinger-critique of America’s baggage seems no more useful than a fugitive analyzing tire pressure of an escape vehicle. Yet, ostrich antics won’t work either. Reality persists, watched or not. What do we do? What our species has always done: bequeath to youth. They will inherit the earth. They will …
NOVEMBER 13, 2021 – In despair yesterday evening, I read disturbing articles about the three big issues of our times: climate change, the pandemic, and crass threats of violence in rightwing American political rhetoric. And yes, I pled “guilty as charged” for having broken isolation from “breaking news.” (The relapse was temporary, I assure you.) …
SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 – When Ida unleashed her fury on the Northeast earlier in the week (after wreaking havoc over Louisiana), in just one hour over three inches of rain fell in New York City’s Central Park. This was a record. What I found most disturbing about this is that the record it broke had …
AUGUST 12, 2021 – I used to worry our country would descend into civil war—Dems vs. Reps; haves vs. have nots; people who relied solely on Fox for news vs. those who didn’t. Now, I’m not so sure. Perhaps the outcome is simply . . . a wholesale breakdown of norms; a chaotic unraveling of …
AUGUST 7, 2021 – For me and a family member of far greater stature than I, today starts yet another year around the sun. Yesterday, I closed out my 66th year with an excursion up the Connecticut shore from Old Saybrook to Watch Hill, RI, then back to our base in Chester. Highlights included a …
JULY 25, 2021 – Yesterday I walked along a wide logging road on our back acreage and noticed how well the many red and white pine seedlings had done this year, despite the paucity of rain. Most of the three- and four-year old seedlings have doubled their height. Because of this growth, the pine are …
JULY 18, 2021 – Amidst catastrophic flooding in northern Europe, grave endangerment of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem, still raging fires in the West, continuing drought and record heat across half of North America, I’m pessimistic that we—humanity—can do enough in time to mitigate climate change materially or to adapt quickly enough to avoid its …
JULY 10, 2021 – Thursday evening on our way to the cabin, we stopped at the Beechmoor, a classic, northwest Wisconsin bar and grill. It’s at the south end of Whitefish Lake, which, as the water flows, is two lakes down from our own Grindstone Lake. The bar was crowded (vaccination cards, people?), and besides, …