The Beginning of Act 3

The Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer
Read more about this painting here.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of this blog. At the time, the Covid pandemic was in its infancy. Too many people died. For those who survived, all were deeply scarred. Unfortunately, too many of them refuse to admit it. Five years later, and the disease's worst side effects have emerged full blown. Willful ignorance and irrational fear run rampant. Current leadership has proven incapable of resisting. Many of them are enabling it. We are in a crisis. However, humanity has faced terrible calamities and catastrophes before, some of them self-imposed, and survived. Therefore, I have hope...

A Deep Breath (#28)

"A lifetime of fulfilling achievements is on the horizon."

On April 5, 2020, six years out from a teaching career that ended poorly, I was volunteering my time as stage manager and prop master at a dance studio, and making new friends. My life was taking shape again. Then Covid upended the world. I had to adapt. So, I uploaded two posts to this blog, and began a new journey. Its five-year anniversary is in two months. In preparation for this special day, I am taking a sabbatical from blogging. During this time, I hope to answer a question hidden among the two-hundred-and-forty entries on this site: how am I going to begin the next twenty-five years of my life?

Meandering Thoughts (#25)

Jake the Cat attempting to hide from the post-holiday doldrums.

Four. More. Years. My current struggle? Figuring out how to resist this madness. And getting on a plane by myself, again. At least I produced a blog post.

Meandering Thoughts (#24)

https://projects.seattletimes.com/mlk/bio.html

Another political post. Someday I will elaborate my thoughts about heroes vs heroism, saints vs saintly deeds. Also, a discussion about "common sense" and why I hate the phrase, is in order. In addition, my view that lawyers and activists have been the greatest defenders of our rights and freedoms, while soldiers have protected our national security and interests, and police have served a different purpose, deserves an explanation. But all that will have to wait. For now, the topic is heroes and saints.

If you want something more professional direct from an historian, here is Heather Cox Richardson's post about heroism. 

On Dreaming (#24)

The Desperate Man by Gustave Courbets

You would think after last week's announcement, I would have been motivated, and produced something profound. That is not how I operate. Not even after all these year. Also, change takes time. Incremental steps. Yet, I need to write something. Since my last dream post was back in August, tonight I will share a few from the last three months of last year.

Apologies for (Another) Long Silence...

My last "long silence" lasted several months". This past one, eight weeks. I received this note in my fortune cookie from Christmas Eve. Now, here I am blogging again. Hey, if a slip of paper is my motivation, so be it. After all, a wildfire can begin with a small spark.