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Some history is in order as we begin preparations for Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was observed in 1621 by the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The traditional version of the first Thanksgiving is that the stalwart Pilgrim settlers were giving thanks for the harvest and included the Wampanoag tribe which had taught the newcomers how to grow corn, beans, and wild rice and also provided turkey for the feast. That’s fairly accurate but leaves out a few d...
We've come through a tumultuous time and there's more tumult ahead. Some folks I care about are happy with the election returns and some are unhappy. Seems to me, what we all need now is the answer to how we organize and nurture our interior world as we negotiate the days to come. The first thing that comes to mind is Macbeth's soliloquy. Shakespeare had Macbeth declare, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And a...
By the time this is published the election will be over. I pray this election is sufficiently lopsided that there aren’t any arguments about who won. History does give me some hope. We’ve had incredibly nasty elections in the past, worse in ways than this one was. Sometimes we haven’t elected the best candidate, and yet we survive. Democracy is messy but it is superior to all other forms of government. There may be violence, but I hope not. Violence is never a rational answer to confl...
I got email last week from Ancestry.com. They updated their analysis of where my ancestors came from. Ireland was decreased, Denmark and Norway disappeared but, as usual, England and northwest Europe, Germanic Europe, Scotland and Sweden came in strongly. Of course, it didn’t change anything, didn’t make me any different than I was before the update. It simply pointed out, once again, that virtually all of us are comprised of a mishmash of DNA soup so, even folks whose job it is to figure suc...
I had a professor who delighted in using such complex language it frequently left me confused. Fortunately, I had a friend who was blessed with remarkable intellect. After class I would ask Gary, “What was he saying?” Gary would then explain, in simple terms, what had been said. I’ve always admired folks who could take complex or confusing concepts and explain them so clearly even I could grasp the meaning. Many philosophers and theologians suffer, either from ego or overwhelming intel...
As we enter the last days before the election, I find myself reflecting on the first Inaugural Address of Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. The Great Depression lay heavily on the nation and, I’m sure, lots of folks saw no way out. Roosevelt projected through the campaign an ebullient spirit, an optimism that many undoubtedly thought unreasonable. In his inaugural address though, Roosevelt took on more serious reflection. He acknowledged the difficulties but he reminded the nation that the ...
There are realities that are easy to ignore. We ignore somethings because it makes us uncomfortable in a “I just can’t deal with that” way. And yet, we get reminded every so often. Black holes are those unbelievable dense places in space which gobble up anything that falls within their range. When a black hole swallows material a fraction of material is ejected before the object falls in, which forms a jet on either side of the black hole. This process accelerates radiation and particles at clos...
It’s easy these days to focus on worries. The 24 hour news cycle constantly reminds us of troubles. In the old days of journalism there was a saying, “If it bleeds, it leads.” In other words, if it’s bad or dramatic news it gets priority. Sometimes in the deluge of negatives I find it useful to take note of things for which I can be grateful. I’m always grateful for family and friends. I’ve recently begun getting to know a new person, a new friend, which always gives me the feeling I’ve just s...
The following column was sent to two proofreaders plus one other. One totally objected and the other two thought revisions were necessary. To which I simply smiled and replied, “Nope.” A friend worries about getting older. I remind him I’m older which makes him smile. Another says, “I’m too old to do that anymore.” We older folk sometimes complain about aches and pains which result from just waking up in the morning. I would, however, like to offer some advantages of getting older. First of al...
I’d seen the “Bridge” installation in “Sculpture in the Wild”, in Lincoln, before but I hadn’t read the sign commenting on it. When I was there last Thursday though, I read one could either view the gap between each side with the suspended planks as either falling apart or coming together. I confess my immediate assumption was that it was falling apart. I’m not a pessimistic person but logic said pieces in midair must be falling. My poor logic bound brain went that direction but I certainly lik...
Some folks have been surprised that the Ukrainian army has, thus far, successfully not only invaded Russia but has managed to hold onto a chunk of territory since August 6th. The lack of coordinated response by the Russian military doesn’t, however, come as a big surprise to political scientists. Putin is a dictator, the leader of an authoritarian system. Leaders who create such a system usually don’t do very well when faced with change. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 and fai...
There is a growing race around the world to develop advanced Artificial Intelligence. The United States has an early advantage but China is pouring resources into their efforts and other countries are working on their version. The Arab states with their vast oil derived financial resources are involved. A.I. is beginning to return value for the billions that have been invested. There are promising advances in medical and scientific field. It isn’t public knowledge but there is no doubt a huge p...
Since we’re in the midst of a presidential election, it’s time to remind ourselves that presidential campaigns are not general appeals to the whole electorate, but are instead the sometimes complex matter of assembling blocks of voters. Candidates talk about the ideal of all of us united as Americans. After all, our national motto has long been considered to be E Pluribus Unum, which means “Out of many, one”. In 1956, “In God We Trust” was formally adopted as the national motto, but the old one...
Some days it seems like the turmoil of the world is overwhelming. It’s easy to focus on external things demanding attention. Perhaps we could all use something simple, something personal that could lighten things up? On a day when I wasn’t too happy I read that simply smiling could improve my attitude. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to improve my day. There are times when it sort of feels good to be grumpy. Nevertheless, I allowed myself a small smile and, annoyingly, felt a little better about...
Lately, there’s been a push to vote for the “Best of Montana”. Although I have my opinion, I don’t vote for any of them. My reason goes back to a Chinese restaurant I used to like in California. It was extraordinarily good. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. As a result, I was happy to vote for it when there was a “Best of” contest. It pleased me when my favorite restaurant won. It was written up in the news, tons of great publicity. Success ruined them. No longer could I jus...
As usual, this is being written about a week before it will appear in the Cascade Courier. Normally, that doesn’t matter, this week it really might. I am deeply concerned that there is a high potential for violence in our future. Our political life has become so polarized and there are so many people who believe violence is an acceptable way of dealing with disagreements that bloodshed seems inevitable. To be absolutely transparent, I do not believe violence is ever justified unless and until i...
The Earth rotates 1,000 miles per hour. We speed 18 miles per second in our orbit around the sun. We don’t feel it because we are part of everything doing exactly the same thing. We don’t feel the speed and only notice the movement by the passage of time. When I lived in big cities I didn’t notice something I’ve become aware of in Denver this summer. Previously, I was part of the culture, now I’m an outsider, a temporary visitor. There is a sense of isolation here. It’s ironic. There are t...
When Louisiana passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom, they did a disservice to both religion and politics. It was a purely political gesture designed to gain favor with a portion of the electorate but was without redeeming value. On the political side of the issue, our nation was expressly founded on the principle that church and state should remain separate. From the very beginnings of our country, the founders wanted to avoid the bloody re...
Out in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming I passed a “vehicle”. I’m not positive that’s the correct term although I guess it has to be. It looked as if it were cobbled together out of the wrecked carcasses of at least two cars and one flatbed truck. The exhaust system seemed to have come from the discarded chimney pipe from an antique wood stove. I am not mechanically inclined and wouldn’t want to get more than a mile away from a good garage in such a contraption and, yet, it was many miles fro...
There is a conceptual place where chaos theory and Newtonian physics collide. I don’t have sufficient education to comment but, it seems to me, Newtonian physics has a strict causality to it that doesn’t conform to life as we experience it. What we can take from such contemplation is the effect even small, random events can have on our lives. Turn a particular corner, either literally or symbolically, and our lives can take a radical turn. What was certain becomes doubtful, what was imp...
When we meet someone the first thing we usually share is what we do for a living. We tell each other that frame of reference, a box to put each other in. If, on the other hand, we asked what really makes them happy or content in life we’d often get a different response A very high percentage of folks did not choose their job because it is what feeds their soul; they chose their job because it was what they were capable of doing or what was available at the time they needed work or they simply i...
In local news, the first mosquito of the season has appeared, right on schedule. There’s always a lag between them showing up and when effective spraying begins. For those who prefer not to douse themselves in mosquito repellant it’s useful to reacquaint ourselves with how to get relief once we’re bitten. I like the method of applying the back of a spoon heated in hot water to relieve itching but there are lots of others. In addition to all sorts of anti-itch products on the market, there...
It was as asinine a comment as is possible to make. Not only was it ignorant, it showed an utter distain for logic, and history as well. I felt the instant urge to correct, to educate, to defend truth, and then old Epictetus intervened. Considering Epictetus lived 2,000 years ago it was an extraordinary achievement on his part. Yes, the old guy is still spry enough to prevent me, at least occasionally, from responding to stupidity. Epictetus was a Greek philosopher, concerned with ethics. He...
My favorite news story of last week was the announcement that a tiny taco stand in Mexico City earned a Michelin star for its excellent food. Chef Arturo Rivera Martinez of Taquería El Califa de León has only four different tacos on the menu and none costs more than $5. The café is only ten feet wide but is a great example of excellence being rewarded. Granted, he had a large city full of hungry people as possible customers, but that doesn’t mean for example, a small town in, perhaps, nort...
Over the years I’ve discovered many of the things I was taught to be true have turned out to be false. It’s happened often enough to have engendered a healthy amount of skepticism in me. Now, when someone tells me something is absolutely true, part of my brain almost invariably whispers, “Really? Maybe.” One thing I was taught as a child was that animals operate on instinct, not by rational thought. I’ve learned there are two things wrong with that belief. First of all, I haven’t detected an...
