I finished reading the essay The Iliad or the Poem of Force written in 1943 by Simone Weil. The essay and other similar works are preparation for my commitment to read the Iliad by Homer. The more I’ve learned of the ancient Greeks, the greater my desire to read Homers great poem. This text was…
A copy of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse was given to me by a good friend. I finished the story a few days ago. I read it once before over 30 years ago. Hesse’s story is life changing, similar to T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. A copy of the Four Quartets is in my brief…
This morning the rains came. My jacket was moistened by big drops as I hurried across the parking lot. A slash of white lightening fell in the distance, so far away that I did not hear the thunder. The arrival of the spring rain is a reminder, that time is passage, and that we…
I awakened this morning, barely. I am diabetic and as it happened I awakened with low blood sugar. At the level of physical function, I did well enough. I prepared my bowl of cheerios. Then I attempted to check my blood sugar. I found that my faculties of reason were impaired. I could not…
We who live in the Mid-West suffer a longer winter than do those who live in the South. And unlike our countrymen in Minnesota or the Canadians winter is not a universal hockey season or celebrated for snowmobiling adventures etc. We endure winter. When spring arrives in early May its a big deal. That’s…
I attended a town-hall meeting at the Kildeer Elementary School yesterday. The meeting was convened by our 10th District Representative to Congress, Brad Schneider. I’ve attended other public gatherings hosted by Brad. I am struck with how similar these meetings are. Given that yesterday was one of those early spring days, with blue sky…
I could never be a happy idiot, to borrow a phrase from a Jackson Browne lyric. It does not take genius to see the abject sorrow all around. Much is just bad luck. Parents usually do the best they can raising their kids. Often though they make crucial mistakes and the child matures to…
We visited Huber’s Orchard and Winery in Starlight, Indiana. This is a 7th generation farm that started with 80 acres in 1843. Huber’s now is 600 acres growing fruits and vegetables, the largest producer of grapes in Indiana. We left the dogwoods behind in Kentucky and crossed the Ohio River into the hilly Indiana farm…
Louisville Kentucky, on the Ohio River is a Southern town. Strictly speaking during the Civil War it was a border state. The citizens of Kentucky had sympathies on both sides. Still it was a slave holding state. Present day aspects of Southern culture remain. Almost every where you look there is remembrance of the…
Lynching Victims Memorial in Montgomery Alabama. For the full story CLICK HERE. How could we have waited so long to do this? Why are we STILL OPPRESSING people of color? How can we exercise power and authority, but no responsibility? Is this the way things have to be, the will of the god, are…
