Politics

The Big Disconnect

The Big Disconnect The world is spinning off in two different directions at the same time. What I can’t really figure out is whether or not this is what always happens, if it is a short-lived quirk, or if this is a new phenomenon that sets the tone for what we have to live with going forward. We have all heard about and experienced the divisiveness in our society these days. In the extreme, the…

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Politics

The Dance Card Gets Filled

The Dance Card Gets Filled The notion of a dance card started in the Eighteenth Century, but it really came into vogue in Nineteenth Century Vienna. I always thought of it in regard to Gone With The Wind with the young Scarlett O’Hara with a small booklet looped to her wrist where the evening ballroom dances were listed and next to which she could write the names of the many beaus and potential suitors that…

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Memoir Retirement

The Cold Cut of Life

The Cold Cut of Life I know before I write this that I will receive any number of comments and criticism for what I am about to write. This is less because I plan to write something controversial or fundamentally bad, but more because I am playing into both a gender stereotype, and what many of you have always suspected is a personal flaw of mine. I mentioned in passing that the other day I…

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Politics

The Dark Triad

The Dark Triad The psychology of leadership is an important issue generally, but it seems especially so today. Leadership in good times is challenging, but leadership in difficult times is imperative. We are in some of the most difficult times the world may ever have seen. I know we are all prone to a degree of hyperbole in thinking that our problems are greater than all others, but the truth is that as cyclical as…

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Memoir

Stack & Roll

Stack & Roll When I was twelve years old we moved from Wisconsin to Maine. There were many things about that move that were milestones. My mother was going from being a graduate and post-graduate student to again being a gainfully employed professional, earning 7X the income that we had lived on for the past four years. We were moving from an enlightened urban center in the Midwest where we drank “pop” to the deep…

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Memoir

Trimming the Palm Tree

Trimming the Palm Tree The Mexican Fan Palm is a native palm tree that comes from Baja California and the Sonoran Desert. That means it is an indigenous plant more or less and not something that was imported from Madagascar or some such exotic place. Things grow so well in this 9-10-rated climate zone that it is not surprising that the Mexican Fan Palm thrives just a few miles north of its native habitat. It…

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Memoir Retirement

Why Now?

Why Now? Getting enough exercise is a pretty universal challenge for everyone at every stage of life, but I think I would get broad agreement that it is especially important when you get to a certain age. This is not rocket science, everyone understands that you should moderate what and how much you eat and drink and how much physical activity you get. Naturally, this is a game that gets played less in the conception…

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Politics

The 4%

The 4% Do the math. I have finally done it and it makes me more curious rather than satisfy my curiosity. The latest Times/Siena poll says very clearly that the Trump MAGA base represents 37% of the Republican Party. That is the core that gives Trump his dominant lead in the Republican Primary discussions (it’s barely an official campaign yet since there hasn’t even been a debate yet…not that he will likely partake of such…

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