Eclipse

 Saw the eclipse on April 8th. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Amazing. No clouds. Clear sky. Totality for 4+ minutes. 

The advice on viewing was constant. 'Don't look at it or you'll go blind". This is true but something in me wanted to look at it, just to be sure. And so did my four year old grandson, Ben. Like his granddad, he did sneak a peek, but just a quick one and survived, as did I. 

Something about the way that advice is given. You are only told not to stare at the sun when an eclipse is upcoming. I guess that means that we assume people are smart enough on normal days, but somehow turn stupid under the power of the eclipse. 

On a bright sunny day, Moms of the current age might call out to their kids, "put on sunscreen", "don't stay out too long", "drink plenty of water", (in the 60s they said none of these) but she will never cry "Don't Stare at the Sun!!!"

A Gift from a two year old

 Johanna - This week you let me put you to bed. I wanted to and you did not object. What I really expected was for you to point to your Grandmother. Almost always this is what your brother and cousins would do. But you just went to my arms as if this was the most normal thing. We read both nights, The Lady with the Aligator Purse and Fox in Sox. Each three times. 

The most wonderful part was when it came time to rock you and sing to you. You nestled in my arms as I sang Jesus Loves Me, over and over. I thought of all the times I had held my own children in this wondrous routine. I felt your love and trust and comfort in my arms. I don't have good words for this. To be at your home, to be surrounded by one you trust and have the beginnings of this feeling we call love. To know the comfort that comes when fully cradled in the arms of a grandfather. 

Perhaps it will not happen in this life, but there will come a time when I will once again know this peace. I have long forgotten what this is like, but if there is any good in me, the seeds were planted at times like this. When my Dad, or my Grandad, or my mother held me. When my whole world loved me. It will come again. 

The things I do when my wife is out for the week

 1. Put dishes in the dishwasher without washing them first

2. Set the thermostat where I want it

3. Keep the TV on hoops all day

4. Leave house with the TV on

5. Watch Sharknado 2

6. Turn the living room into a banjo studio/sports center

7. Refreeze meat I've thawed to cook and then changed my mind

8. Eat her snacks

9. Drink too much coffee

10. Shave on the couch while watching hoops

11. Miss her

Retail Revisited

Fourteen years ago I wrote a post about places I liked to shop. It's interesting how things, tastes and places changed. 

The 2010 list

Gander Mountain         Costco

Macy's                          Dunn Brothers Coffee

Amazon.com                QT

Bachman's                    Fleet Farm

Tim Horton's                Cracker Barrel 

Valley Park Hardware  Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard

The 2024 List

Costco                         Amazon.com

Nordstrom                   Filson

Aldi                             Cracker Barrel    

Ace Hardware             Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard

QT

Right at the start

I don't always know right from wrong. Or perhaps better said, I don't always know grey from right or grey from wrong. There are some things I did in my early life, particularly in business, that I had to learn were wrong. I thought they seemed neutral. Some matters that I thought were grey areas I later learned were not. They were not big things, but more technical matters related to my profession. 

There are other human behaviours, that from the time I first heard of them, seemed wrong. They still hold. Almost everthing I thought was wrong when the child me first heard of them, was indeed wrong and twisted. That first impression, that gut sense, stuck with me - even when I was an adult and tried to rationalize them away. When I ponder whether a particular act is morally right or wrong, I find I often revert to a very simple question, "When you first heard of this act, what did you think?"

Before I was old enough to know the difference between political parties and philosophies, my first impressions ruled. That gut reaction. As I look back its remarkable how the instinct of me the child was nearly always the one I still hold, or have returned to, in my later years. I believe that is a grace of God poured out on his youngest children who are raised in homes that believe in Him. This is a personal belief, not necessarily a theological truth. 

Cities 2023

Not much in the way of travel this past year. The places where I spent the night were mostly in my home country.  Victoria, MN, MIami, Fl, Belize City, Belize, Webster Groves, MO, Minneapolis, MN, Coralville, IA, Steubenville, OH, Hickory, NC, Roan Mountain, TN, Duluth, MN. 

Books read in 2023

Below is the list of books I read in 2023. I think the best indicator of whether I found them of value is if I kept them. This doesn't mean I liked them, though that is usually the case. There were a couple I didn't like but think I may read again, or want to keep as a reference. There were some books that I really liked but do not think I will ever read again. Basically, it's all over the map. The ones marked with an asterisk are still in my possession. The others are at Goodwill. At the bottom of this list is a couple of best and worst thoughts. 

Margaret Thatcher Vol 1: Not for Turning - Moore*
Margaret Thatcher Vol 2: At Her Zenith - Moore*
Margaret Thatcher Vol 3: Herself Alone - Moore*
Red Rubber, King Leopold II's Regime: The Belgian Slave Trade in the Congo 1890-1910 - Morel
Spark of Life: A Novel of Resistance - Remarque
The Congo Free State: The History and Legacy of the Colony - River
Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare - Carney
Patrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of Congo's First Prime Minister - River
True Compass: A Memoir - Kennedy*
Fear: Trump in the White House - Woodward
Rage - Woodward
The Holy Bible (12th or so reading): NRSVCE*
The Room Where It Happened - Bolton
By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition (3rd reading)- Shea*
Will you miss me when I'm gone? The Carter Family and their Legacy in American Music - Zwonitzer
The Broker - Grisham
Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World - Wallace
My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir - Thomas
The Dark Side of Camelot - Hersh
No Silent Night: The Christmas Battle for Bastogne - Barron and Cygan*
700 Sundays - Crystal
M Train - Smith
The Civil War, Vol 1:Fort Sumter to Perryville - Foote (3rd reading)*
White Fragility - Diangelo*
The Laws of Brainjo: The Art and Science of molding a musical mind - Turknett*

The Civil War, Vol 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian - Foote (3rd Reading)*
The Practice of the Presence of God (5th reading) - Lawrence*
The Saint Monica Club: How to Wait, Hope and Pray for Your Fallen Away Loved Ones - Green (4th Reading)*
The Civil War, Vol 3 (Red River to Appomattox) - Foote (3rd Reading)*
Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis - McGreevy
The Power Broker - Caro
A Reporter's Life - Cronkite
White Fragility (Second Reading) - Diangelo*
The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 - Larson
The John Lennon Letters - Davies
Father Augustus Tolton - Burke-Sivers
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet - Cameron*
This is my Body : A call to Eucharistic Revival - Barron*
The Man who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales - Sacks
Africa and the Early Church, The Almost Forgotten Roots of Catholic Christianity - Aquilina
Holy Is His Name - Hahn
Love Unveiled: The Catholic Faith Explained - Sri*

Books I gave away and now regret. 

Will you miss me when I'm gone. 

Countdown 1945. 

Spark of Life. 

Just didn't like em

Father Augustus Tolton 

700 Sundays 

The John Lennon Letters

Will likely read again

White Fragility. Very poorly written but for well or ill the book has given me some things to chew on. Still mentally digesting it.  

M Train. Patti Smith just bowled me over. I picked this up on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. What a gifted woman. 

The Civil War. Had I not just finished it I would pick it up now. 

The Holy Bible. Almost every day.