Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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I expected the coronavirus would find me eventually. I also expected the vaccines would protect me. Although I got sick as could be, and at one point thought I was going to lose my mind or die, I didn’t. So all those vaccines — and I had every one of them — served me well.… Read more
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I became ill beginning August 26 and have not recovered. On August 29, I tested positive for COVID-19 and visited a clinic that afternoon. I felt like I was going to die, but didn’t. Thanks to a dedicated local medical staff, I am on the mend. On the plus side, copies of my memoir arrived… Read more
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Following is a chapter of my privately published memoir, An Iowa Life. A Union Job With classes and examinations finished, I headed back to Mother’s home for the summer. Several high school classmates applied for summer jobs at industrial workplaces in the Quad-Cities. The post-World War II economy was still humming at John Deere, International… Read more
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It is ironic that I used to be a member of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America Local 431 and am now vegetarian. This is because in 1982 I married a vegetarian who recently became vegan. More precisely, I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian, as long-time readers of this blog may know.… Read more
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When I arrived in Paris in September 1974, the place was emptied of most of its people. I did not understand the cultural phenomenon of millions of French people flocking to the coast, countryside, and other vacation destinations, leaving urban areas almost deserted. A few shops were open in Paris that summer, although not many.… Read more
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I have been watching the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago as much as I can. Tonight, I plan to tune into CSPAN only for Kamala Harris’ speech. I am worn out with all the talking and, as Michelle Obama suggested, am ready to “Do Something!” These quadrennial conventions are a chance… Read more
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My Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks told a whopper in her August 18 newsletter to constituents. “Since the Biden-Harris Administration took office, Medicare Part D premiums have skyrocketed, increasing by 57%,” Miller-Meeks wrote. I am on Medicare Part D drug coverage, so I pulled out my records. They show a much different story. In 2021, the year… Read more
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Today begins the Democratic National Convention. Many of our most active Democrats will be attending the four-day event at the United Center in Chicago. That means a break for the rest of us. I am interested in the speeches. I usually watch the keynote address in which a rising star gets a chance for a… Read more
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The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi is a solid read from a person at the center of American politics since first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1987. In a time when the average American adult finishes just over five books per… Read more
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Like it or not, the demise of my handheld device on Thursday marked the end of an era. I procured my first smart phone — that’s what we called them then — to work on a political campaign in 2012. When the technician told me last week he could not recover my files or contacts… Read more
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