Pre-dawn light.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

  • Small Town Dairy Queen

    SOLON— Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought Dairy Queen in 1998, and after that, it became easy to associate the purveyor of dairy treats, Coca-Cola, burgers, hot dogs and fries company with his corporate governance. It is our local outlet in the industrial food chain with ties to the deepest memories of growing up in the… Read more

  • Rain Came

    LAKE MACBRIDE— It rained on plans to work in the garden and yard. So now, the long lawn will wait until the next dry, sunny day; weeds are getting respite from being chopped; and the garage is clean enough for one auto. After the last, I went upstairs to the kitchen and processed vegetables for… Read more

  • Plenty of Jobs

    LAKE MACBRIDE— My patience is worn out with the talk of minimum wages, living wages, and all else hourly wage related. Depending on what one wants to do in life, the discussion matters a little or a lot. For me, not so much, as I previously explained. I’ve written about worker engagement and dealing with… Read more

  • Summer Politics Kickoff

    The Associated Press released a summary of the Iowa primary races over the Memorial Day weekend and tomorrow the voting will end, framing the summer and fall campaign. Going into election day, here is what to watch for: The front window race is for U.S. Senate, between Rep. Bruce Braley and whoever emerges from the… Read more

  • On Spain

    LAKE MACBRIDE— King Juan Carlos I of Spain announced this morning he would abdicate the throne in favor of his son, Crown Prince Felipe. Having visited the country during the dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos made a favorable impression on me from the first days of his reign. Until recently, he held the… Read more

  • A Sawyer

    CEDAR COUNTY— Two white horses came down the hill and grazed around my temporary work site. I had forgotten how large an animal horses can be. Before long, they walked up the hill toward the barn where there was likely better repast. I continued to saw timber. Who knew I would become a sawyer, even… Read more

  • Plenty of Radishes

    LAKE MACBRIDE— After work at the CSA, and on a new sawyering job in the next county, I harvested radishes— lots of radishes. It was a reminder of how far behind the garden is this year. There are still seedlings planted in March that need to go in the ground, and now a third crop… Read more

  • The Circus is Assembling

    LAKE MACBRIDE—A friend wrote a letter to the editor politely asking us to boycott the May 26 and 27 appearance of elephants in the Shrine Circus at the county fairgrounds. It was a brief letter, reflective of her ongoing concern with the treatment of animals. Here it is in its entirety: Wild animals do not… Read more

  • Honey Locust in Bloom

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Honey locust trees are in bloom around the lake country. It is another step in the steady march through the calendar of our awareness. We expect the blooms now, and so they have come. The newspaper in the county seat announced their endorsements for the statehouse primary elections and picked Dennis Boedeker in… Read more

  • Into Summer

    LAKE MACBRIDE— Memorial Day is past, and summer will officially be here in 26 days. The spring garden patch is beginning to produce, there will soon be spring garlic, but everything else is running way behind. I blocked out some time to finish the initial planting this week. Here’s hoping the weather cooperates, although with… Read more