Yesterday we were privileged to have a guided tour of the Fabyan Estate home in Geneva, on the bank of the Fox River. George Fabyan, descendant of a wealthy Boston dry goods manufacturing family and his wife Nelle, purchased 300 acres in the early 1900s. The old farmhouse on the property was remodeled by…
Sunday at six thirty AM looking east the sky was pale yellow, and the sun a blinding, fiery ball. The yellow is the smoke from distant fires. I read late yesterday that the Caldor fire near Lake Tahoe is being contained. In the Midwest we do not have to remain indoors day after day…
Today is Friday. Sometimes I am disoriented, unsure if today is Saturday or… Retirement sometimes has a confusing texture as the structure of the workweek is removed. I am considering, speculating upon what I would desire if it were possible to be young again, to begin higher education under ideal circumstances. In hindsight, what…
Hungry, but not hungry enough to order a hotdog and fries. I ordered the hotdog. The man behind the counter about to swipe my card, inquired, “No fries?” That’s right I replied. I hate to throw out the fries, and that’s what will happen. “Ok” he said. I watched him compose the hotdog. A…
I took a nap on a summers afternoon, warm, bright with sunlight. I awakened noting that my blood sugar was high. A diabetic pays attention to such things. I decided to take a bike ride into town. The afternoon was quiet. A short ride would serve to address the high blood sugar. Riding for…
ON PHILOSOPHERS Of a life of luxury the fruit is luxury, whether in agriculture, or commerce, or literature, or art. There are nowadays professors of philosophy, but not philosophers. Yet it is admirable to profess because it was once admirable to live. To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor…
What do I owe future generations? That was the question of the evening for the Socrates Cafe group. We met again at Barnes & Noble. Everyone around the table wore a mask. It is yet unclear how truly effective the vaccine will be to protect us from the more contagious Delta virus. Surely this…
I moved. Today at breakfast I moved as far as possible from the droning of Good Morning America television, a mindless going on about how the quiz show Jeopardy. The show now will have two hosts… Who in his/her right mind should care? Clearly inhabitants of our media culture do care. The world is burning! …
Organisms soldier on unwittingly. The difference between how things seem and how things really are is just as fatal a gap for them as it can be for us, but they are largely oblivious to it. The recognition of the difference between appearance and reality is a human discovery. False belief = getting it…
Yesterday was our last full day in Eagle River. We visited Lucy’s Diner for breakfast. Yes, Lucy’s is a bona fide diner, a diminutive dining room of perhaps eight tables, and a counter with a row of stools. We sat at the counter affording a view of the kitchen. My interest was captured by…
