Nothing of note comes to mind this morning. I will not waste your time or mine. A further thought; we were lost on a Wisconsin north woods road recently. The road ended with a sign that read, “bridge out.” We turned around. Here are some fine lines from Hermann Hesse: Man is not by…
Midweek, Wednesday, more rain, and I grab onto the lifeline of this Jimmy Buffett song. Don’t we all need something to hang on to on occasion? I have done what I could to keep my balance on a high wire. Negotiations with a lending bank, and with a homeowner/realtor whose property I thought about…
After the signal to attack is given, one can only wait, wait and observe the course of battle, of this weeks events, of my life, —to see how things will play out. To observe and wait is a rarefied ability, to restrain oneself, to resist temptation to “make something happen,” to prematurely intervene…. I…
Waking this morning I half listened to a fragment of a business news report. Last night, Sunday, the President unleashed a twitter blast at China voicing his displeasure at the slow pace of trade agreement negotiations. The Dow Jones dropped 500 points. Is there no other way to nudge different points of view toward…
Yesterday I finished Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche. Zarathustra is not finished with me. I plan to revisit the text. I will obtain another translation. Why not? A somewhat different linguistic angle cannot help but improve understanding of the story. I began reading Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse. That is another book that I postponed…
Saturday dawns bright. The spring sun intensely warms vegetation, evaporation continues from the rain-soaked ground. We bear with climate change, the downpours and the droughts as best as we can. The effects are always local, as the suffering is always personal. Thus the great lords in the manor houses are enabled to believe and…
I like this song. But why? How is it that I am moved? What speaks to me as a bedrock-truth from these lyrics, from this melody? Perhaps its the possibility of coming to an unshakable decision, an enduring course-of-action that will not be qualified, modified, or conditions added. Deep River Woman written by Lionel…
Man’s most far, profoundest, star-highest issues, his prodigious powers—do not all these foam through one another in your vessel? What wonder that many a vessel shatters! Learn to laugh at yourselves, as you well should to laugh! You of great aspiration, –Oh, how much is still possible! And truly, how much has already succeeded!…
A group of us came together last night to find language to express our feelings, and our musings in response to a work of art. The piece was unveiled at the inception of our conversation. To supply a sparkle of delight, to ensure that we’d not slip into an all-too-serious mode, a bottle…
The song by Buffalo Springfield has always hooked me. From the shimmering melody intro, to the subject matter of war by a colonial power, whenever this one is played on the radio, time stops for me. I came to adulthood during the Vietnam War. I had no strong feelings pro or con with respect…
