Hungry, but not hungry enough to order a hotdog and fries. I ordered the hotdog. The man behind the counter about to swipe my card, inquired, “No fries?” That’s right I replied. I hate to throw out the fries, and that’s what will happen. “Ok” he said. I watched him compose the hotdog. A…
What do I owe future generations? That was the question of the evening for the Socrates Cafe group. We met again at Barnes & Noble. Everyone around the table wore a mask. It is yet unclear how truly effective the vaccine will be to protect us from the more contagious Delta virus. Surely this…
Yesterday was our last full day in Eagle River. We visited Lucy’s Diner for breakfast. Yes, Lucy’s is a bona fide diner, a diminutive dining room of perhaps eight tables, and a counter with a row of stools. We sat at the counter affording a view of the kitchen. My interest was captured by…
Another day East of Eden. There are times, when for a moment I think this is paradise, or better that it could be. Those are the times when my body and mind registers beauty or meaning. Almost always I am taken by surprise. If I am lucky, I have a pad and pen at…
This statue entitled Self-Made Man by sculptor Bobbie Carlyle is installed in front of Bar Evolution here in Batavia. I have occasion to walk by the statue often. The work prompts the sardonic thought that there is nothing that is self-made in this world. Homo Sapiens, humans are among the most complex and fragile…
I finished the essay by Maxwell Hyett of Western University. The essay is entitled Amateur Mortality. It was forwarded to me by a friend. Hyett treats Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s three short meditations on the meanings, the possible outcomes of the covid pandemic, the quarantine, the masking up in public places, the social isolation which…
Tuesday, and friends are coming over late in the morning. Friends of many years become scarce with the passage of time. Life becomes more complex, or worse, we are uprooted and forced to begin all over again. The latter is often the case as demands of employment mandate a move to a new town…
It is a great feeling to return home. A “get-a-way” is a luxury, and I have memories that I will cherish for quite some time. When visiting the shore of Lake Michigan I am aware that my presence is limited. I fantasize about making time stand still. A fantasy. Time, a feature of the…
It is paradoxical that I spend yet another day of enjoyment by the lake, knowing that Germany is slammed by flooding, with great loss of life, and devastation. The corona virus, the latest, hyper contagious variant is exponentially increasing infections by the day, with more deaths to follow. The obvious question comes to mind…
Last night I participated in a wide ranging discussion about language. How language, words and a manner of speaking, those informal “rules” that channel our conversations in predictable ways — make up our minds. When I look at the assertion which I just wrote I feel an inner disquiet, dismay. It appears that language,…
