Purpose As I sit on any given morning, pondering what is on my mind at the moment, I often use visual cues to spur me on. Since I have lately been writing in the morning at my office desk, I can choose to examine the things around me in the office, things that are by design filled with memories and imbedded aspects of my life that cause me to reflect. Every picture may tell a…
Changing Your Stars One of my favorite movies is A Knight’s Tale, staring Heath Ledger. In it he plays William Thatcher, the son of a thatcher (as in, a maker of thatched roofs) who is told by his caring father to go forth and change his stars as he hands him over to a knight to apprentice the boy and give him opportunity he might not otherwise get in Cheapside, where he is from. I…
Of Fathers and Sons My daughter, Carolyn, has her mother/daughter posse that she always wanted. I’m very happy to see her so happy as a mother, but especially as a mother of two lovely daughters. Based on her blonde/blue-eyed genetics combined with her husband, John’s Norwegian heritage, this has caused her to have two blonde/blue-eyed beauties that share a bedroom and are the best and closest of sisters. Carolyn is an energetic mother (she is…
Long Live the King Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in the history of Britain, is dead at 96. Her husband Philip, the longest term consort to a reigning sovereign in Britain, died last year at 99. King Charles III, at age 73, becomes the oldest king or sovereign ever to become king (by almost a decade) and the longest serving Prince of Wales in Britain’s history. Joe Biden is 79 and if he…
So, after my class Wednesday, the student who gave me the four “CBD Patches” corrected me and said that I had misunderstood and that they were, indeed THC Patches. Hmmmm….. That makes me need to stop and think about it before using the patches. I had a gathering with several neighbors last night and asked the question of them. Should that change my instinct to try to help my shoulder pain and sleep patterns by…
The Business of Teaching I just finished teaching my Law, Policy & Ethics course for two hours tonight in what felt like a 90 degree classroom (we are all asked to conserve energy during this heat wave). It wrung me out and felt like a hard day in the salt mine by the time I was done. There is nothing inherently hard about the course material or this particular class, since it was the introductory…
Living Once Apparently, where I have been saying “Carpe Diem” for many years, even long before the movie The Dead Poets Society, when Robin Williams whispers it to his prep school students, telling them to “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” as written by poet Robert Herrick in 1909, who took the phrase from The Book of Wisdom from the Bible, others have been saying YOLO (You Only Live Once) to imply the same thing.…
As Goes Chile, So Goes the World NOTE: The referendum mentioned below was REJECTED by 62% vote, so this traditionally conservative country will remain more conservative than the current administration thought it could achieve. What I admire about the democratic process seems to be in place as the leftist president said the following, ““Chileans’ decision demands our institutions and political leaders to work harder, with more dialogue, respect and care, until we reach a proposal…
Labor Day Labors We all carry our own burdens, whether we want to or not. One of mine appears to be that I think too much. Please don’t shut down and assume that I am being arrogant and suggesting that I am smarter than other people, because I am not. I know my IQ and have for many years and I know I have a modicum of intelligence, but that many of you out there…
The Changing Tide Based on yesterday’s story that mentioned sea kayaking, you are probably thinking that I went against my better instincts and tried sea kayaking and got swept out to sea on the tide. Not even remotely likely. The tide that is changing is the tide of my heart and mind. For six years or so, not so accidentally coinciding with the arrival of Donald J. Trump on the political landscape, I have taken…