Category: reflections

  • Exactly When Were the Good Old Days?

    Exactly When Were the Good Old Days?

    I just saw a short web article about Baby Boomers and their opinion of what’s going on these days and comparing it to the “good old days.” There were the usual complaints about bad music, lack of teamwork, no effort to maintain social bonds, and the like. I’m not sure I can identify any such…

  • Fathers Can Be a Pain in the Ass

    Fathers Can Be a Pain in the Ass

    I’m going to talk a little bit about fathers. Mothers are important too, but I’m a guy and I can talk about mothers another day. Because it’s a touchy subject, I’m going to begin with a Men in Black (MIB) joke, like I always do when I’m being defensive. There’s this MIB 3 scene in…

  • More On Taming the Juggling Balls

    More On Taming the Juggling Balls

    I’ve been juggling for about 5 months now and reflecting on my progress. I think I’m doing OK for a geezer. Sena would call me a hot dog although I would still call it ugly juggling by any standard. What’s striking, at least to me, is the little bit of science I can find on…

  • Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

    Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

    While we were out for a walk yesterday, we ran into someone walking her chocolate Labrador retriever. His name is Hunter and he had a tree branch longer than him in his jaws. He looked like he was having a great time gnawing on it and swinging it around. I didn’t envy his owner when…

  • About Those Stages of Retirement

    About Those Stages of Retirement

    We got our new wall clock on the wall the other day. It got me to thinking about how I view time and other matters now that I’ve been retired for about two and a half years. I actually tried to ease into retirement by getting a 3-year phased retirement contract. I thought that might…

  • Terry Trueblood Outing Today or How to Find Hearts Needing a Home

    Terry Trueblood Outing Today or How to Find Hearts Needing a Home

    We had enough of bad news on the web, so we went out to Terry Trueblood Recreation Area today. Good things are happening around here, including what we found at Trueblood. Sena ordered some items last week. One is a clock, which we’ll hang somewhere and then not look at. Another is a chair that…

  • Thoughts on Regrets

    Thoughts on Regrets

    I’ve been thinking about Dr. Moffic’s article on regret, posted on February 16, 2023 in Psychiatric Times. I’ve dwelt on it long enough that I feel compelled to inject humor into the subject. It’s one of my many defenses. There’s a quote from Men in Black 3 involving a short telephone conversation between Agent K…

  • In Search of Al Martin

    In Search of Al Martin

    Today, I was thinking of a guy named Al Martin, who was one of the few African American role models for me when I was a teenager in Mason City, Iowa. I thought of him a couple of years ago, googled his name and couldn’t find him. I mentioned him anyway in a blog post…

  • Iowa State University African American Science Graduates

    Iowa State University African American Science Graduates

    I was thinking about what to write for the first day of Black History Month, which starts today on February 1, 2023. As usual, I started to reminisce about my time at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, Iowa. I usually don’t talk about my undergraduate days. In fact, I had a little trouble finding…

  • KCCK Big Mo Blues Show Brings Back Memories

    KCCK Big Mo Blues Show Brings Back Memories

    Last night on the KCCK Big Mo Blues Show I listened to something I haven’t heard since the mid-1970s. It was a radio commercial for the Green Beetle and Frank’s Liquor Store. It ran right after the song, “Memphis Women and Fried Chicken.” I think I first heard this radio ad while I was a…