Hooped Earrings and Monster Trucks

Hello from breakfast at Perkins, The beginning of the year is like an episode of the show that was on television when I was small, titled The Twilight Zone. I know that comment is anachronistic, and it reminds me of the last few years I was teaching and things I had used anecdotally earlier inContinue reading “Hooped Earrings and Monster Trucks”

What Might Have Been

Hello from my small, but comfortable space at the Magee. As I ponder the avenues that are in front of me, and as some of you know, the first 18 months of retirement have been a rollercoaster, I find myself also looking at the paths I have traveled, the choices made, and the consequences ofContinue reading “What Might Have Been”

What Constitutes Peaceful?

Hello from Main Street in the only incorporated “town” in Pennsylvania, My head is whirling and my brain seems to be stuck in overdrive. Across the street from my little space I can hear people protesting the events of the last week. I hear cars honking their horns in support. The world seems to beContinue reading “What Constitutes Peaceful?”

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”

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”

Real or Memorex

Hello on a Friday evening, It’s a chilly December evening, typical of the penetrating Pennsylvania cold, which I always say is worse than Wisconsin cold. It’s been a longing couple weeks as I have battled a yearly cold, which kicked me more than usual. Fortunately, I am mostly beyond it, and recently noted I amContinue reading “Real or Memorex”

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”

Life in Every Breath

Hello at the end of the week, It is difficult to believe we are almost into the year holiday season. This coming week I will fly back to Iowa to spend Thanksgiving with family. Certainly, holidays are a different time for each of us; they bring back memories, which for some are blessed and bringContinue reading “Life in Every Breath”

The Gift: Writing and Feeling

Good afternoon, It’s a typical middle to late Pennsylvania fall day; the morning revealed a variety of window scrapping options, depending on altitude of your location. It’s amazing how a few hundred feet, or even less, affects what kind of precipitation occurs. I remember living in Laurium , MI, 11 miles north of Houghton, whichContinue reading “The Gift: Writing and Feeling”

Struggling with my Scars

Hello from the hotel, I am continually amazed by the way our lives seem to be in an ending tension of sorts, the sort of push and pull between things that seem diametrically opposed. We are, on occasion, profoundly short-sighted while simultaneously planning things long-term. We are ostensibly pleased with our daily existence while worryingContinue reading “Struggling with my Scars”