Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes and More

Hello from the road, We (my sister-in-law, her husband and I) spent the night in Sandusky, OH, after a long day of driving from the Quad Cities, and on our way back to drop me off in Bloomsburg before they arrive in New Jersey. It was a busy two weeks-plus back in Iowa for theContinue reading “Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes and More”

The Transformation of Boomers

Hello from my room at my sister-in-law’s house, I think we are back down to our last day on this trip, which has lasted a bit longer than I planned, but this is where retirement is advantageous. The Christmas holiday has been nice, and I have met members, part of extended family, whom I hadContinue reading “The Transformation of Boomers”

Can the Calendar Make a Difference?

Hello on a New Year’s afternoon, When I was a boy, the week after Christmas, as I have noted, was spent at my grandmother’s house. The acreage, located on the North side of Sioux City, was a humble, but homely dwelling rather non-descript to the viewer, but anything but for me because it was whereContinue reading “Can the Calendar Make a Difference?”

The World Breaks Everyone

Hello as the wind howls outside my window, The winter cold front is blowing through, and while we did not get the snow, whiteouts, or ice those north of us experienced, it is down right cold, and we’ll see what the morning brings. Those even straight West or minimally North are seeing zero visibility andContinue reading “The World Breaks Everyone”

Arrogance is Never Exceptional

Good morning from the cube, I am cleaning, organizing, and working on some other sundry things. I am a bit ridiculous about organization and cleaning, particularly kitchens and bathrooms, but I am well aware of that idiosyncrasy. Cleaning as a daily chore when I grew up. Each of the three children had required things evenContinue reading “Arrogance is Never Exceptional”

Imagining a Christmas Spirit

Hello from the living room of my sister-in-law, When I was small, this day was a day of anticipation, a day of incredible cookies, candies, Norwegian delights, and church with candles and carols. It would not be until later I would learn to decorate the house into a fairytale of my own, and make bothContinue reading “Imagining a Christmas Spirit”

The Consequence of Location

Hello from yet another coffee shop, now in Marathon WI, I was back in Iowa for the Thanksgiving holiday, though at the other side of our state. While it is a growing metropolis of sorts (pushing 400,000), it is still Iowa. Between there and Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa, there areContinue reading “The Consequence of Location”

Why am I Fascinated?

Hello from Main Street, I am back in the only official town in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the place where I first moved in the late summer of 2009. It is a typical Main Street of small town Americana, and like many small towns, it has experienced the growing pains of a changing culture, theContinue reading “Why am I Fascinated?”

Measured in Love

Good Sunday late morning/early afternoon, One of the most difficult things in life is being able to love another person, consistently, persistently, and certainly completely. I am not sure I realized early in life that it would be so difficult, but at this point, as someone retired as well as someone single for a significantContinue reading “Measured in Love”

At 250 . . . Once, Always

Hello from the corner table, Currently, there are a lot of words tossed around (which is not really anything new, but perhaps different ones) that get used, pushed upon the other, and taken out of context. Or sometimes, thinking about the work of Anthony Giddens, the British social theorist, they take on new meanings. PerhapsContinue reading “At 250 . . . Once, Always”