State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

  • Inequality in the 21st Century

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These first words to the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, and proclaimed on July 4, 1776, are what… Read more

  • Driving Through West Branch

    WEST BRANCH— After my talk at the Quaker school, I drove west through the darkened town. The streets were familiar as I had walked them each two years ago during a political campaign. I remembered faces and conversations as each one passed. It’s not my town, so I let the memories go into the night.… Read more

  • Last Day at the Orchard

    RURAL IOWA CITY— Saturday was my last day working as a mapper at the orchard. I enjoy the work a lot, and hope to get hired again next year, but for now, it’s over. The season continues through the end of the month, as soon, all the apples will have been picked. As a mapper,… Read more

  • One of Eight

    LAKE MACBRIDE— “Only 15 percent of Americans are paying very close attention to the midterm elections—a number that is both very low and, apparently, significantly lower than the midterms in 2006 and 2010,” according to the Washington Post. Sounds about right. One of eight people are paying attention. While my friends and family are engaged,… Read more

  • Begin with a Lunar Eclipse

    LAKE MACBRIDE— It was a glorious moonrise last night with a spectacular lunar eclipse this morning. Stars could be seen throughout the sky, and neighbors turned on their lights to come outside and look. The Milky Way was evident, and Orion’s belt was high in the southern sky. Even though I studied astronomy briefly under… Read more

  • Iowans for Sherrie Taha

    The fact that Sherrie Taha, candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, supports reduction of food imports to Iowa only makes sense. “Rather than import the bulk of the food we eat from outside of our state, we need to reintegrate local food production back into our local economies,” said Taha. “We have great farmers markets.… Read more

  • Days of Gatherings

    JOHNSON COUNTY— It is possible to fall into a trap of believing that the world and society are about us— our small circle of friends and family and how we live. That would be perilous. Not only is it impossible to live outside the broader context of global society, believing so isolates us from serving… Read more

  • Labor Secretary Finalizes Minimum Wage Hike

    On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez issued a final rule raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 per hour, effective Jan. 1, 2015. According to the Associated Press, the change will impact more than 200,000 workers. The top ten federal government contractors in 2012 were Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Boeing, SAIC,… Read more

  • 3 Things about the Iowa Senate Race

    Partisan politics, and the manner in which the founders set up the federal government with its bicameral legislature, yielded an inability to deal with problems much beyond our noses. The founders planned it that way. “A government of representatives, elected by the people at short periods, was our object; and our maxim at that day… Read more

  • Pent Up Demand

    LAKE MACBRIDE— While the dental hygienist was scaling, I noticed an odd shape on the upside down computer screen above my head. Leviathan? No. Ink blot? No. It was an image of a jaw bone and the hygienist was recording gingival margins as she poked and scraped with the tool. The screen is used to… Read more