State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

  • Toward 2015

    LAKE MACBRIDE— After a shift at the warehouse, The plan is settling in to mark my 64th new year. Bottles of prosecco and Sutliff hard cider chill in the ice box. There is plenty of food to make something celebratory. Prediction: falling asleep before midnight. One thing seems certain about the coming year—getting wiser before… Read more

  • Food and Sundries

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Food and sundries are the second highest cash output in our budget and December has been a doozy. Suffice it that we have plenty of food in the house. The phrase “food and sundries” is indicative of the fact that things like water softening salt, facial tissues, cleaning supplies hygiene products and other… Read more

  • On Income Inequality

    LAKE MACBRIDE— We hear a lot about income inequality and for me, those able to amass wealth should be congratulated—then they should pay a fair share of taxes. Neither happens with any regularity. Feigning moral outrage at the wealthy getting wealthier isn’t possible for me. There are no massive scale opportunities for vertical integration of… Read more

  • Book Reading

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Long form reading was slight in 2014. A daily hour or two of reading articles from screens displaced reading books, and my reaction is mixed. Part of me wants there to be more long-form reading, and part of me understands the new dynamic of staying in tune with what is going on in… Read more

  • Christmas Miscellany

    LAKE MACBRIDE— It has been a quiet Christmas holiday and that’s okay. Our family has never been very big, even when nieces and nephews from both sides are considered. There are shirt-tail relatives, of course. If we connect the threads, that could include all of humanity, something that may be wondrous, but is not practical… Read more

  • ACA Resilience To Be Tested

    LAKE MACBRIDE— When the U.S. Senate passed the continuing resolution to fund the government (CRomnibus) on Dec. 13, who knew what was in it? The folks at CoOportunity Health, an Iowa nonprofit insurance cooperative established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), should have. If they didn’t, they would find out three days… Read more

  • Juke Box – Blue Christmas

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  • Energy to Create

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Is it better to use home electricity to power devices or batteries? As readers can see from the image, I opted for battery power and here’s why. I already own a Kodak EasyShare Z1285 camera that takes two AA batteries. While cameras come and go in the course of a person’s photo taking,… Read more

  • No Holiday When Working Poor

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Christmas is a busy time for retail workers. The end of year holidays, stretching from Halloween until the Super Bowl are a key time for companies to close sales that impact annual results. A lot of part-time and seasonal workers are needed to get everything done. The working poor I know have their… Read more

  • Budgeting

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Budgeting. We think of spreadsheets and calculations that determine our balance sheet— and ensuring there is enough action in the works to produce enough income to pay expenses. In December, it’s about considering this year and preparing for the next, and it is not all about finances. What shall we do next year?… Read more