Moving to Patagonia No, I am not leaving my hilltop. I have determined that I am not ever leaving our hilltop unless and until they carry me out. And no, this is not necessarily about our next trip to the Southern Cone of South America where the countries of Argentina and Chile merge through the Andes Mountains down to the tip of Tierra del Fuego (the land of fire), the archipelago that forms at the…
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…
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…
My Wannabe Socialist Friends? Twenty-seven years ago I started a motorcycle club with a few pals. I had gone on a solo motorcycle walkabout through the canyons of Southern Utah in 1994 when I turned 40 and had been inspired to make that an annual ritual. The first year I could only get one guy to go with me. He was a lawyer and a bit of a henpecked husband (his wife didn’t like him…
The Power Elite What a strange world we live in. I feel it is even stranger for me than it is for most. I am a white male born of privilege, but raised with a liberal ideology. My paternal grandfather was a fascist, one of Mussolini’s men from the region of northern Italy near Bassano del Grappa in the Tyrol. He was either a bully like young Benito or more likely just a sycophant trying…
Hunting for Hunter This title will probably do more to raise the readership of my blog among my red friends than anything other than one denouncing Hillary for something obscure and yet serious, like the mishandling of top secret government document. But while the story has nothing to do with Hunter Biden and why right wing deflectors need a bane of their existence to distract them from all the very real, growing and harsh criticism…
Contrite Is as Contrite Does The concept of contrition is often thought to be associated with Catholicism. We think of sitting in a confessional and leaving with the seemingly trivial penance of saying so many Hail Mary’s or Novenas to absolve ourselves of our sins. But contrition is a far more general and important concept for modern life than these old, somewhat antiquated memories or images. We all need to start from a common basis…
Laughing It Up While I was just in NYC (actually more in Connecticut than NYC), I had the opportunity to have breakfast with my old friend Roger Baumann. Roger is just about the sweetest guy I know. It’s not just me that feels this way, Kim says the same thing about him all the time too. The only person as sweet as Roger is his lovely wife Julie, but I don’t get to see her…