Monday morning breaks with brilliant sunlight. I can hear the voice of our granddaughter, about 9 months old, loudly expressing pre-language delight in another day of life, of shapes, colors, sounds, of endless adventure and opportunity for exploration. May she never lose her voice, misplace her passion. While preparing breakfast I noticed a wild…
In several hours we will leave Illinois for St. Joseph, Michigan. The drive will take us around the big lake, (Lake Michigan) to the resort town in the adjoining state. I love a road trip, the change of scene which travel affords. The geographical change enables a reboot of the psyche, to shift the…
Who doesn’t own an iphone? I have an older 6s model with a cracked screen. It’s a marvelous device, magical, concealing state-of-the-art circuits, layer upon layer, thousands of semi conductor elements, applied quantum mechanics delivering convenience and entertainment. You know what I am attempting to say. Few of us have consciously opted out of…
These lines, quoted from America, by Jean Baudrillard, published 1986, translated by Chris Turner: NEW YORK More sirens here, day and night. The cars are faster, the advertisements more aggressive. This is wall-to-wall prostitution. And total electric light too. And the game – all games – gets more intense. It’s always like this when…
Yesterday was my birthday. Yes I know, April 1st is the day set aside so that everyone can play the jokester if they desire. That fits my temperament. Life is highly improbable, unlikely, fragile and thus is suitable material for ironic humor. What are the odds that I am here, that I continue to…
Rain had fallen all day. At dusk I had just turned on the ignition; the motor came to life along with the radio. In reverse, I slowly backed the few feet toward the road, half listening. The announcer said that the president was about to hold a press conference on the covid-19 crisis. By…
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. — Gustave Flaubert I have been a fan of “good quotes” for many years. At the prompting of a professor in grad school I began writing in a pocket-sized notebook memorable lines discovered…
Teachingis a kind of learning,much like loving,mutual goings-on,mutual forbearance,life itself, you might say. But how shall I improvethe swiftly-dimming hour?I shall deteriorate amid bucolic dreamsand gather in my fate.There’s lots worse ways than that. Alas,some goodbyes are like death;they bring the heart to earthand teach it how to die. Excerpt, Farewell to Teaching By…
Shortly we will depart Galena. A few hours of driving and we will be home again in Batavia. We take leave of Galena but our few days here have given us memories enough for many days and hours of satisfied reflection upon the people that we met, and all that we learned. The last…
I believe human freedom is narrowly circumscribed, channeled, confined by genetic inheritance, by the resources available for clothing, shelter, nourishment, safety, and above all shaped — by the values absorbed from the birth family, and mores of the zeitgeist into which I was born. None of these factors were and are, within my discretion….
