During the recent inauguration, I heard the term his-story substituted for history, which of course, was about to change. I never thought about that before, but it struck me as an accurate description of the past. I've spent years tracing our family's genealogy. The easiest way to do that is to go straight back along …
Half-Way There
I've kept a personal journal for over thirty years. I've never shown it to anyone. Recently, it occurred to me that there was a decent chance no one would ever see it. After dad passed away, my sister and I took responsibility for getting rid of his stuff. It was an emotionally draining task. Some …
Living In The Moment
I still remember the last day of sixth grade. I went to a K-6 school. Sixth graders were at the top of the food chain. The “little kids” looked at us with a mixture of respect and fear, which was not lost on us! Staring out the window, I thought to myself, ”I’m a big …
The Doors of Perception
What we perceive is a tiny slice of reality. Visible light accounts for less than one percent of the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet to us, it's the whole enchilada. Aldous Huxley (with dated gender language) wrote, “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” It’s challenging to understand …
A Quality Life
What do you want to be when you grow up? It's been years since I've heard that question. Most of us stop thinking about it after graduating from school and land our first "real" job. From there, reality takes over and life, in Robert Frost's words, flows on its own melt. In a time frame …
What Matters.
What makes us who we are? The renowned physicist Brian Greene recently wrote a piece in the New York Times addressing why art matters. He concludes: “Whereas the patterns of math and science matter because they speak to qualities of reality that exist beyond us, the patterns of art matter because they speak to qualities …
Learning the Two-Step
When I was a youngster, one of the biggest thrills in life was getting a new pair of sneakers. In those days, Keds were what the cool kids wore. My parents watched their finances pretty closely, so I usually got a discount brand. Every once in a while, though, Mom came through. Such was the …
Can Opposites Attract?
Music is a big part of my life. I love the sound made by musical instruments, but it's the silence between notes that defines a song. A jazz trio with perfectly timed silence is a wondrous thing to experience. I am very fond of photography, as well. One needs light to make a picture. But …
A New Year’s Resolution
A New Year’s Resolution We have a cabin on a lake in NW Wisconsin. For the past twenty years, I’ve battled to keep the outside out. It seems mice find interior warmth alluring, and they are ingenious at having their way. Each year, I search out and seal ports of entry, but the mice always …
Spirit Running Wild
In grade school, at the beginning of each day, our teacher would take attendance. After we took our seats, she would open her attendance book and call out each student's name in alphabetical order. When we heard our name, we answered, "Here!" Since that time, I've discovered that loved ones don't have to be “Here" …
Towards A Life Well-Lived 