This is the 50th year anniversary of Summerfest. Held in Milwaukee it is a convocation of music lovers from around the world. The lake front is gorgeous. Participants are generally well behaved, no matter that thousands are present in the Maer Festival Park. I existentially needed to be present at Summerfest this year as…
I received an email from a friend this morning. The email was a request for a emergency response of sorts. I was urged to email my legislative Representative in Springfield to register my desire that he vote “no” today on a Bill that entails a 5 billion in tax hike. A take hike of…
I know I’m crazy. No diagnosis needed. A few days ago I was present for a concert at a local park district. The first song offered by the community chorus was our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. I’ve joined in singing the song hundreds of times since I was taught the tune in…
I finished signing up for Medicare yesterday. I am fortunate to have a friend, a insurance professional who is competent to coach me through the process. Insurance coverage for health care is a reminder of our mortality, that mind does not overrule matter. Despite the fantasies of youth this body which I inhabit is…
Jeff raised a concern. Jeff expressed a cautionary concern about losing oneself in sensual experience. Jeff thought that full-out pursuit of sensuality without abatement is counterproductive. In short, too much of anything is detrimental. I’ve taken a few days to consider Jeff’s words. The point is well taken. We live in a society that…
We arrived with just a few minutes to spare. Could this be the place? The winding roads, up and down through the grassy hillsides, the hollows, not that far from the Ohio River were exhilarating and disorienting for two guys from Chicago. Additionally we had overlooked the loss of an hour of travel time…
I never expected to visit Madison, Indiana. More to the point I never heard of the place until we passed through yesterday on our way to the Ohio River. The road trip to Kentucky was for the purpose of having a talk with Wendell Berry. Berry is a prolific author, essayist, poet– one who…
This morning I heard the news that Amazon is purchasing Whole Foods. Jeff Bezos acquires another weapon in his quest to slay the Wal-Mart behemoth. At least that is what the analysts are saying. The prime principle of 21st century greed-is-good Capitalism is “There Can Be Only One.” This mantra comes from the Highlander…
Two stories are better than just one, right? We all love stories. Stories require imagination, the mind supplies the “sense” of living within the Reality of the story. Story no. 1 is a story of us, we who live in the early years of the 21st century. The words are taken from Paul Virilio’s…
I do not enjoy thinking about, or writing about politics. I recognize that politics is a dimension of life. Yet we live in terrible times, by comparison to the time of my childhood and early adult years. In that time, with the exception of the Vietnam War years, politics was not a daily intrusion,…
