We are at the place in summer where every day some new plant stands out along the state park trail. The flowers are particularly familiar. They provide assurance there is a world outside human endeavor that persists and blooms.
It is another hot Sunday afternoon as I write, with the heat index approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. To play it safe, I did outdoors work this morning then headed inside. It never really cooled off overnight and the ambient temperature was in the 80s by 9 a.m. For a change, I got through my digital and physical inboxes and accomplished a few non-garden related tasks.
The news from Washington, D.C. is grim. It looks like the U.S. Senate will pass their version of the reconciliation bill later on Monday. There is no way to describe it other than a theft from the less well off to benefit the wealthiest in their gilded enclaves. The absurd budget cuts being made, combined with running up the national debt, could transform the United States into something unrecognizable.
I am aware nothing is permanent in politics. I am also aware of the 1890s Gilded Age and the comparison with what’s going on today. I don’t see anyone like Theodore Roosevelt coming along with a square deal for all of us. The absence of moral courage among so many is what makes today so grim.
I haven’t given up hope. I continue to do what I can to make the world a better place, beginning with a garden harvest today, some of which will go to the local food pantry. We must be brilliant like the wild bergamot that yesterday made its first appearance of the year on the trail. Reaching for the sky we display our color unabashedly. Belying the many uses to which we can be put once our blooms finish.
It is a hard tonic to swallow that the wealthy are gathering up the produce of our lives. We shall, however, persevere… and return next year.
The year is half done and it’s time to check the compass to see if I’m heading the right direction. Maps will be required, so I got out some of my favorite ones and considered where I’ve been and where I might go from here at mid-year. This process isn’t really scientific.
I know the region of Fulda, Germany as well as I know Big Grove Township, probably better. Getting out the same old maps is comforting… a reprise of what is possible in a life. It’s a fit thing to do on a Saturday as June ends and the days get shorter. It is easier to chart a course by knowing where we’ve been.
Saturday mornings do not mean the same thing they did. When I was a grader, Saturday meant taking the city bus to downtown, paying my newspaper bill, and eating at the automat in the department store or at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. I often hung out until the movie theaters opened for a 25-cent matinee. It was an outrage when the price increased to 35, then 50 cents. At university, Saturdays meant time to catch up on studies and enjoy the quiet while everyone else attended a home sporting event. After university, as I entered the work force, Saturdays were a time to relax for a few hours before heading into a work place. I rarely worked only five days in a week, especially in the military and after beginning work in transportation and logistics. When I retired, it got increasingly difficult to tell one day from the other without looking at a calendar. The meaning of Saturdays eroded, although hope for meaning persists.
This Saturday morning began with a restless night. I woke just after midnight and finished reading the current book. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up just before 2 a.m., did my exercises, and made coffee to start my day. I finished my to-do list, made refrigerator pickles with yesterday’s harvest, and then went back to bed just before dawn. After a couple hours sleep, I got up again, turned the coffee warmer back on and went for my normal daily hike along the state park trail. There were a lot of people on the trail, dressed in brightly colored workout clothing. While I didn’t know many of them, it felt like being part of a community. The only ones who did not say “hi” back were men with earbuds distracted from nature’s beautiful morning.
It was going to be another hot afternoon, so I got to work soon after arriving back home. I changed into my overalls and mowed the ditch, which likely burned more calories than the trail hike. I worked for a while in the garden and then headed inside to take a shower and got out my compass.
Writing. I’m back to work on the second volume of my autobiography. The main task is to set aside a couple of daily hours for new research and writing. When we moved to Big Grove Township, our child was eight. I’m enjoying reconstruction of what our lives together were like during the time before they entered college. This part is pleasurable to remember and write about.
Reading. I read 43 books in the first six months. This year is different in that I am interfacing more with the public library. In addition to saving money on buying books, the range of my reading increased. The public library makes it easy to see what new books are being shelved, and the wait-time to borrow a copy of something in which I find interest is usually short. I even recommended a couple of books for purchase and without exception, the library did buy them. I hope there will be more of that ahead.
As owner of thousands of books, there are already plenty of them in the house to read. My best hope is to find work related to my autobiography and put them at the front of the reading queue. Part of me wants a process for picking the next book. Part of me wants to leave the choice full of whimsy and spontaneity.
Physical Condition. Improving my physical condition is a must. I lost 20 pounds of weight since January 1, and according to the doctor I need to lose a lot more. 30 minutes of brisk daily walking has been good. Working in the garden has also been positive. When the garden season began, I could hardly get up from being down on my knees. Now, I don’t even think about it and get right up when I am finished with something. The key changes this year were the increased physical activity combined with tracking how much I eat in an application. There are issues with the app, but it does help me stay focused on what I am feeding myself. The result has been a slow, steady weight loss since I began using it. I don’t see anything changing in the next six months. If I continue as I have been doing I could reach target weight before the end of the year.
Kitchen Garden. In addition to making vegetable broth, pesto and pickles, I’m looking to stock the pantry and freezer with produce I grow myself. This year looks to be a big apple year, so I need to save energy to process and stock up on related products. Garden abundance will guide my efforts here. I need to go with the flow.
Working in the Garage. Working on the Indiana section of my autobiography has me reprising this activity. I put the flag up over the garage door and work outside with creative impulse, modeled on what I did in Indiana when our child was living at home and entering school. It’s not the same as then, yet it is a form of nostalgia in which I am not afraid to indulge. More of that in the coming months. In many ways, it reflects who I am.
Curating Artifacts. It is incumbent on septuagenarians to cull the good from the not so good as far as souvenirs, photographs, books, clothing, tools, supplies, and everything else accumulated in a lifetime so those left when we pass on don’t have to deal with them. I admire Mother for doing this in the final years of her life. The photographs are the hard part. Spending time with a batch of 50 images should take ten minutes or less. Invariably it can turn into a several hour project because of the way memory is invoked. If I did one thing in the rest of 2025, it would be to develop a process that allows memories to arise from the well of lived human experience, and then find a different home for 90 percent of my artifacts. That merits some time.
Financial Stability. We depend on pensions and there is a known problem with Social Security. I wrote about this in 2017, and while the date changes along with the program, politicians have not done much to address this gap, then forecast in 2034. The Congress should address this now, although there is little visible interest in doing so. Senators like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have a plan. The Congress needs to take the issue up and fix the program. That or tell us to get screwed now.
As Saturday morning turned to afternoon I felt recovered from a restless night. For the time being I can afford health care and medical visits, improve my eating habits, and get on with my writing. In many ways, the second volume of my autobiography will be the high water mark. Once I finish writing it, I plan to edit both books for publication and get them out there as ebooks and paper books, using one of the services. I know the way to accomplish this, so I can put away my maps until needed again. I’m not ready to get rid of them.
Before dawn it was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I went for a hike before the sun came up and beat the daytime heat. It will be the kind of heat they were talking about in the Bible… namely, Hell. A couple groups of joggers were out with me, one running by flashlight. We locals often have the same ideas if there are different interpretations of illumination.
I went to the clinic for a blood test this morning. A technician was working on the entryway. Looked like he was installing a new security system. He asked, “How are you?” I responded, “That depends upon what the doctor says.” Well… he left himself open to that old-time joke.
The university remodeled the waiting room. They removed almost everything except the seats, replaced those and increased the capacity to 13. They included two double-wides, not that anyone in our area needs one of those. They must have high hopes. That or standard practices that make no sense out in the country. I noted they made me wear a wrist band. Not like I would get mixed up with anyone else at my early morning appointment. They did use it to scan me after the blood was drawn.
When I was checking out, the person at the window said my current physician is moving to Coralville. Did I want to follow him, they asked? I said I wanted to continue to visit the local clinic, where I have been going since 1993. They changed my appointment to be with the new practitioner. I should have asked whether it was a physician or some other type. Guess it doesn’t matter for my kind of common maladies.
I made a list of outdoors work for after the clinic, but the only thing I did was spray the cruciferous vegetable patch with DiPel which is made of bacillus thuringiensis, a common pesticide used by organic growers. Everything else will have to wait until the heat wave moves on. According to our post-DOGE weather report, it looks like it is heading east and we may break loose by tomorrow. Who knows, though.
Importantly, I have returned to writing. I wrote a chapter with a career update, then turned to my real interest: remembering our time as a family when we moved from Indiana to Big Grove Township. I can tell it will be a good summer for writing.
Centennial Building of the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City. Photo Credit – State Historical Society of Iowa website.
I probably won’t go to The State Historical Society of Iowa’s Centennial Building in Iowa City before it closes for good on June 30, 2026. In all my time in Johnson County, I’ve only ever been inside a couple of times. I remember purchasing some Iowa history books with their distinctive red covers. There are likely other good things there, like the archive of Emma Harvat, first female mayor of Iowa City. Even so, I found the building’s contents inaccessible, and a discouragement to research.
Everything is destined for the Des Moines Historical Society location, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “It’s unclear how many records are kept at the Iowa City building,” Megan Woolard wrote in the article. I believe that. It was difficult to find a path to start research when I was last there. Maybe with the move, someone will go through everything and highlight some of the objects in a program or exhibition. Given the level of interest, combined with funding constraints, maybe not.
Our historical archives are a collection of society’s stuff. There is a view archives should be conserved. What is the best way to do that? Looks like the direction in Iowa is under one roof. That can be good or bad. Here’s hoping for the best outcome, in case we someday need access to this forgotten history.
Johnson County Democrats at the 2022 Solon Beef Days parade.
On Monday, June 16, Christina Bohannan announced her third run to become the U.S. representative from Iowa’s First Congressional District. Let’s go!
Campaign 3.0 puts her way ahead in the primary race with two other Democrats. The fact she lost the 2024 general election by 799 votes is an indication she could win in 2026 regardless of which Republican advances from their primary.
The midterm election has been a challenge for Democratic voter turnout, yet in a time when opposition is growing to the Republicans in power, we might pull this one off. The recent No Kings rallies are an indication voters are increasingly engaged in our politics. I believe voters will turn out for Bohannan.
Here is the press release I received by email this morning:
Christina Bohannan announces campaign for Iowa’s First Congressional District
Bohannan: “It’s time someone put Iowa first”
Iowa City, IA – Today, Christina Bohannan announced her campaign for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. Bohannan nearly defeated Mariannette Miller-Meeks in 2024 – and outworked, outraised, and outmatched her, outperforming the presidential margin more than any other Democratic challenger in a targeted race in the country. It was the most razor-thin margin of any Republican re-election of the 2024 cycle. This contest begins right where it ended – the biggest toss-up in the country.
Christina Bohannan said, “Mariannette Miller-Meeks has had three terms in Congress – three chances to do right by the people of Iowa. Instead, she has taken over $4 million from corporate special interests and done nothing but vote their way. And she has put partisan politics over Iowans again and again. From cutting Medicaid, to siding with DOGE’s devastating cuts to Social Security, to enabling unelected, unaccountable billionaires like Elon Musk – Miller-Meeks has forgotten about us. It’s time someone put Iowa first.”
Miller-Meeks must explain why she keeps putting Washington special interests first. In just the first six months of her current term, she has:
Cast the deciding vote for the extreme plan that will gut Medicaid and make health care unaffordable for more than 100,000 Iowans to pay for a massive tax giveaway to her billionaire donors;
Repeatedlyvoted for the cost-increasing tariffs that will force Iowa families to pay $4,400 more in higher costs per year while 700,000 Americans jobs are lost, and costs are increased for farmers, small businesses, and manufacturers;
Joined Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts to cut Social Security, veterans healthcare, education, and law enforcement resources as a proud member of the DOGE Caucus.
It’s time for Christina Bohannan.
Christina grew up in a mobile home, in a rural town of 700 people. When Christina was in high school, her dad got sick with emphysema, and his health insurance was cancelled, forcing her family to choose between paying for his medicine and paying for everything else. She worked her way through school by picking fruit, cleaning trailers, and waiting tables, becoming the first in her family to go to college. After working as an engineer and then teaching at the University of Iowa College of Law for two decades, she took on politics as usual and defeated a 20-year incumbent to represent District 85 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Now, Christina is running for Congress because she believes we need a government that works for the people, not political parties and Washington special interests.
I counted more than 350 people lining Highway One near the intersection of First Street in Mount Vernon in support of the No Kings rallies taking place across the United States and in some foreign countries. The event was straight forward. People brought home made signs, held American flags, and waved at people in vehicles passing through the intersection. There were a lot of horns honked, waving back, and even a crank with a Trump 2024 sticker in his rear window who repeatedly drove through our demonstration. It was all good.
The crowd chanted, “Love, not hate, will make America great.”
The best part of the rally was it was just regular people coming together to say we won’t stand for the authoritarian direction our country is going. No speeches, just a simple, personalized statement about who we are.
Northeast Corner of Highway One and First Street.Southeast corner of Highway One and First Street.Southwest corner of Highway One and First Street.Northwest corner of Highway One and First Street.The crowd stretched for several blocks both North and South of First Street.Small group with home made signs.
There are five different No Kings Mass Protest rallies close to me on Saturday. I plan to attend one of them, likely the one in Mount Vernon. It’s close and I want to see who else I know in that community. It is 60 minutes, so, long enough to find value, and not so long as to find it tedious. I understand there are day jobs available in Washington D.C. on Saturday where a person can wear a red hat and fill a chair for the big military parade for $1,000 in cryptocurrency. I’m not sure there will be chairs where I’m going.
When I was a teenager, Father took the three kids to the Municipal Stadium to see an “All Star Wrestling Caged Match” with two professional wrestlers. I am researching this for a later post that will argue the world in which we find ourselves today — in our media bubbles — is such a construct. We miss a lot of nuance by focusing on the cage match and can do better. I hope to explain that.
That’s all for now. My posting schedule is dicey the next few days. Maybe it’s time to take the last days of spring away from the computer interface. It may be the refreshing break I need.
This week I grew more lettuce, Pak Choi and greens than we needed to use fresh in our kitchen. I took the excess to a local food pantry where they don’t get many fresh, leafy green vegetables. We growers and donors are asked to arrive on Monday mornings.
I put a followup on my calendar to time my harvests so excess can go directly to the pantry each week.
Our food pantry is located in the basement of the Methodist Church. Each Monday afternoon, the shelves are open for anyone to come and take what they need. The pantry serves a clientele of about 35 food-insecure people. If fresh goods are left at the end of the day, a local food rescue driver arrives and takes them to another food pantry open the next day. It is an efficient system.
From what I hear, my fresh greens are usually popular. I don’t know the clients, and don’t really need to know them to do what I do.
The needs are similar everywhere there are food pantries. Here is the current want list from ours:
Mandarin oranges
Canned tuna and chicken
Pasta sauces
Ramen noodles
Chunky Soups
Peanut Butter
Canned fruit
Kids cereal
Toilet paper
If readers have the means, I encourage you to help your local food pantry. It is something easy to do whether you are a gardener or not.
Thomas Jefferson, Writing the Declaration of Independence by Henry Wolf. Photo Credit – Smithsonian Institution.
In defending her vote for the reconciliation bill working its way through the Congress, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks wrote in her congressional newsletter, “(the bill) delivers real relief, starting with a new $4,000 tax deduction for Americans over the age of 65 who make less than $75,000.”
No senior I know asked for a tax break, especially one for which the federal government will have to borrow some $2.4 Trillion according to the Congressional Budget Office. Miller-Meeks does not understand the needs of constituents.
Most seniors living solely on Social Security, pensions, and savings don’t pay federal income taxes. Especially when we hardly take home enough money to get by.
It is basic household finance to know a person shouldn’t borrow money to pay ongoing expenses. That’s exactly what this reconciliation bill does.
She wrote, “(The tax deduction) leaves more financial breathing room for… helping raise grandkids in tough times.” Helping raise grandkids? She must mean helping train them to be compliant worker bees to repay the loans their forebears took to live on.
There is nothing wrong with Washington, D.C. that removing Miller-Meeks and those like her from office won’t fix. She should not be re-elected.
As summer arrives on June 20th, I think about beverages I seek at least once each year. I hope to change all that and pick something as my standard beverage. That’s what I say at the beginning of each summer.
Diet Coke When I’m at the convenience store playing Powerball, once a summer I pick up a Coke or Diet Coke and drink it. This year it was Diet Coke because I am watching my caloric intake. It will be a cold day in hell when I try another of those. It has no flavor. Coke is not it. If Diet Coke was invented “just for the taste of it,” I don’t know what taste they are marketing. I won’t be yearning for another one of these.
Yoo-hoo A couple times a year I pick up a Yoo-Hoo chocolate flavored beverage at the convenience store. I probably should not. The beverage is made mostly from water, high-fructose corn syrup, and whey. I associate drinking Yoo-hoo with living in the south, yet that makes no sense. It was invented in Garfield, New Jersey in 1928 and has been owned by multiple international conglomerates. In a moment of weakness, I’ll likely have another. It fills a certain niche.
Iced Tea I buy the cheapest black pekoe tea bags and brew a pot of tea in an old Brown Betty. The first glass is poured hot, directly from the pot over ice. By far, this is the most refreshing beverage of summer. I make it a couple of times per summer for the refreshment and the remembrance of summers past.
Lemonade When I volunteered with the home owners association I bought a large container of lemonade mix for our annual meeting and potluck. I never used much of the container and from time to time I make some for myself. It is basically a sugar fix, something I need to watch. I may try making lemonade with Italian Volcano lemon juice. The flavor is great and I can control the amount of sugar.
Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey I had a finger of this whiskey in a bottle I bought maybe ten years ago. I finished it off and decided it’s time to eschew distilled spirits unless I am celebrating with friends. It’s intoxicating effect is too much for this aging frame. The other thing is distilled spirits can be very expensive, even at the wholesale club.
Mass Produced Beer I used to buy a case of beer from the wholesale club each summer. I iced the bottles down in a cooler we got for a wedding present, and enjoyed one or two after a hot sweaty day of working outside. They are wanting $30 or more for the brands I like, so that one is getting sanded off in the woodshed. If I have a beer this summer, it will likely be with friends at the site in town where it was brewed.
Iced Water There is still nothing like a glass of water poured over ice. After all the trips down memory lane with the other beverages, I expect this will be the standby. It should be. Filtered water straight from the refrigerator is simply the best.
Editor’s Note: This post is one in a series of quick, short, fill-in posts while I spend most of my time and energy planting the garden. Things are looking good, yet I’m not there yet.
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