Living in Society
Politics mostly social commentary.
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The veins on my arms do not stand out. Ever. The clinic drew blood for my semi-annual checkup and it took two staff members four pokes to obtain a sufficient sample. I’m an adult and can stand the pokey pokey. I also know about my hiding veins. The blood test results were posted same day… Read more
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Charlene Mae Vorwald Hawks, 93, died on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. During high school, after Father died, I got to know her son Tim and was a frequent visitor to their home on Grand Avenue in Davenport. I don’t remember when we started calling her Char. I have two strong memories of her. The first… Read more
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My life in politics is winding down as I turn to long delayed tasks and projects. When I returned to politics at the end of George W. Bush’s first term, I devoted time to everything political. I won an award as an activist. Hopeful candidates continue to see, in the database that tracks such things,… Read more
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It’s time for decisions… about Garrison Keillor. Specifically, what should I do with this pile of books? Most were purchased at thrift stores for a dollar or less. I may have purchased the poetry book new, and maybe Homegrown Democrat. I can’t recall. Keillor’s books never made an impression on me the way Saul Bellow,… Read more
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The back seat of the Chevy Spark is loaded with boxes of books to be donated to Goodwill. Between this load and the previous two, I downsized by about 500 books. It doesn’t look like I made a bit of progress. The goal is to reduce the library so it fits in my writing room,… Read more
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Tracking down remaining folks from our cohort in the old neighborhood was possible. Joe Garrity died Wednesday night and his grade school classmates at Saint Vincent’s deserved to hear the news. That neighborhood no longer exists in the real world, yet I found most of them. Joe was born the day before I was on… Read more
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Editor’s Note: The Iowa legislature is considering a law that requires our county and two others where state universities are located, to divide into districts where each district elects only one county supervisor. Currently, we elect all five supervisors at large. I tried to persuade my State Representative Brad Sherman to vote no should leadership… Read more
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A letter-to the editor writer in the Cedar Rapids Gazette admonished readers this morning. Wake up, Iowans, and get off the sidelines — because the next freedom they take away could be yours. “LGBTQ+ bills in Legislature a sign of what’s to come,” by Karen Butler, Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 20, 2023. Wake up call… Read more
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To keep our sanity, some daily organization is needed. I have a routine, curated over a period of decades, and in retirement, I follow it closely. I had a thought on Saturday, I should post about it. So here it is. My morning routine is typed and held by a clipboard near my writing desk.… Read more
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I recommend reading The Prairie Progressive because there is nothing else like it for progressive readers. The Prairie Progressive has roots in the Democratic Socialist movement in Iowa. The publication was called the Democratic Socialists of America Iowa Newsletter when first published in July 1985. It has been produced at least quarterly ever since. The… Read more
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