While the confrontation has turned entirely on political issues, it’s important to remember the frustrations of Hong Kong’s young people are broader. They live in one of the most unequal places on earth, with an astonishing proportion of the economy controlled by a few billionaires who dominate real estate, retail, utilities, telecommunications, and critical…
The warm cup of coffee comforts. The sky is solid with gray rain clouds. Driving through a stout downpour I was thankful. At last the smaller plants and the trees are getting a drink. More is needed, considerably more. Life and maybe even reality is a matter of maintenance. Rainfall maintains life. Life is…
In the end, I must trust in myself. I have seen men who have beaten from themselves the ability to recognize truth and goodness, and I do not think I am one of them. I can still see the tears in a young child’s eyes and feel pain at his suffering. If I ever…
A few thoughts on Stoicism…. I found James Stockdale’s story a motherlode of lessons — if one is ready to consider and reflect. Stockdale’s foray into politics as Ross Perot’s running mate was fated to fail it seems to me. Success in politics demands that one be a shape-shifter, or worse. One thing that…
Yesterday I planted a Japanese Maple. Highly motivated to find the right tree I traveled for an hour in afternoon traffic, north to Countryside Nursery in Crystal Lake. They had a variety called Crimson Queen, for which I happily paid the purchase price. I transported the small tree home, another hour of stop and…
Yesterday, late afternoon at the Long Grove Coffee Shop I was discussing photography with Bonnie who works as barista at the shop. We both have interest in shooting photos and agreed that it was pleasant to converse with others about the topic. Bonnie drew my attention to the conditions of late afternoon light outside,…
Do you remember your first taste of toasted marshmallow? Was not that a divine sensation? The taste of honeyed sweetness, when toasted over a fire, presented a range of taste-counterpoint from the light toast to a dark char. A poetic tension of sweet and a hint of bitter, was indescribable, delicious. The work/art of…
…hatred of the idea of the Jews was tied to hatred of the power of intellect, as opposed to military power, hatred of law courts, of negotiations, of cleverness in argument, of learning and of the domination of learning; and in this way anti-Semitism is tied to hatred of justice itself, which must set…
Find it hard to write anything this morning. Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide, a twice-charged seller-of-women-for-sex. The first charge was accommodated by a brief stint under house arrest with daily “release for work at the office” privileges. The second time around, his wealth and favors-owed by his powerful friends showed little promise of another slap…
The days spent in Durham were bitter-sweet. Any persons death is sad, and that of a sister is particularly dark. People count and family members count most of all. I delighted to see the resurgence of my hometown. The medium sized, blue-collar town, integrated into the tobacco farming rural counties when I grew up…
