Veronica and the fornicating deer (11/18/2025)

On our walk this morning we saw a gorgeous (at least 8 point) buck humping a doe in the woods. This made me think about a wool hat that a friend of ours knitted for me. We always call this hat “The Fornicating Reindeer Hat”.

Ever since we met in April 1994, Veronica was special to us. She was an archaeologist at the company I joined, she was half Dutch and still had a grandmother (oma) in the Netherlands. Her father was a Mennonite from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and her mother was half Indonesian and half Dutch. Her dad was ultra conservative, a chiropractor, alternative medicine doctor and anti-vaxxer. Mom was a traditional housewife and somewhat of a homesteader. Veronica had a lot of fights with her father but often showed the same conservative streaks that he had. She was an amazing fiber artist and an expert spinner, knitter and weaver. Lastly, Veronica was grossly overweight.

She left her profession and moved to Burlington, VT right after we left Cincinnati for the Hampton Roads in Virginia. We did not lose touch, especially early on. We exchanged monthly phone calls, and her job required her to travel all over the place, so she made an effort to visit frequently. Veronica became her mother away from home when our daughter moved to New England. We had fun visiting her one autumn to coincide with the famous New England leaf-peeping season.

Eventually, the phone calls became scarce and when we spoke, she seemed out of it, or even drunk. At times we spoke the day after and she did not remember that she had called us the day before. Veronica lost a couple of jobs, but it was never her fault, and we never clued in that it could be alcohol related. After a hiatus of a half year, she called us and told us that she had used her frequent flyer miles to fly to Rio de Janeiro to attend the Olympics, in particular the rugby games which she loved. Not long thereafter we got a phone call from her mom telling us that Veronica had died.

Veronica was 55 years old when she died, and we learned she had a thyroid issue but like her stubborn father refused to take the regular medicine that could keep it under control. Our daughter went to look for the obituary and googled her name. It was then that we learned that Veronica had a couple Driving Under the Influence (DUI) convictions (for drunk driving) and actually was sentenced to a half year in jail. This was during the time she was supposedly in Rio (the lies alcoholics tell). A combination of thyroid disease and alcohol abuse must have killed her. We suspected alcohol before but never figured it was that bad. We still often kick ourselves that we did not clue in and did not drive up to intervene. We miss her terribly and often talk about her, even some six or seven years after her demise.

Crazy what a couple of screwing deer brings back. While Veronica technically did not commit suicide, she did it in her own way. She hated her father and loved him at the same time. Some famous person once wrote that hate and love are the same emotion. We knew that a lot of her drinking was about her father. Every time our friend called while under the influence, she spoke about him. If you suspect that a friend is in trouble, go out and help him or her. I do not think we would ever make that error again, and neither should you.

This is the cap that Veronica knitted for me.  She told us that she would go to a bar and knit one of these in an evening and when a guy would tell her that he loved it, she would sell it to him on condition that he would pick up her tab.

More detailed account of our Sept. 2025 trip - Part 1 (10/9/2025)

Looking over the railing we watched the lighthouse slowly drifting by. Quick a selfie. Soon, the vastness of the open space. Lake Michigan. The boat slowly started swaying and rocking on the waves of the lake. Not badly, but it was perceptible, especially when you watch the horizon. Just a pleasurable experience.

We are standing on the front deck of the Ferry “The Badger.” Built in 1953 as train ferry to shuttle trains between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Now it only ferries vehicles across the lake. We are six days into our fall trip. A trip that will eventually take 16 days. It is taking us, somewhat on a whim, on a drive around Lake Michigan, or so we thought. This was partially prompted by the fact that Wisconsin was the only state in the lower 48 (for the non-US residents, these are the US states excluding Hawaii and Alaska) that I had not set foot in, and partially to try something new this year. We had yet to go camping in our van. I miss it. But, we did not want to do another cross-country drive to Los Angeles this year.

The initial plan was to drive up the eastern coast of Lake Michigan and down the west coast. As we all know, all good plans have the option to change; we wanted to stay away from driving in heavy city traffic. All said and done, we decided to drive to Ludington and take the car ferry across to Manitowoc. We would then eventually drive north along the shore of Lake Michigan and cross back over on the Mackinac bridge (a 5-mile long very tall bridge). Both were somewhat anxiety evoking to my wife. Honestly, both were very pleasurable crossings, and absolutely no anxiety was needed (more later).

You are required to travel a few days when you live in Virginia and want to catch the ferry across Lake Michigan. The first two days were spent at the Shenandoah River State Park, where we hiked and visited the Shanandoah National Park. We hiked 2 miles on the Appalachian Trail which gave us some gorgeous vistas of the Shenandoah valley.

After crossing 5 state boundaries (in order: Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, back to West Virginia and then finally Ohio) we ended up at a camping near Lisbon, Ohio. It was a nice ride, but the camping was so, so. The camping included a good education on how some people live. The manager (or camp host) was a gal who lived with her husband and two kids in a nice large trailer. They had moved to the area from Montana for his job at a nearby refinery. It seemed that the couple just moved from job to job. Follow the money. Then she would pick up some odd jobs here and there, while home schooling the kids. However, this year their oldest had wanted to go to a real (public) school. The next morning a school bus dutifully stopped in front of the camping to pick her up.

We visited friends near Ann Arbor the next night and in the morning, we continued our trip to Ludington. I had screwed up and booked the ferry a day earlier than intended. It meant postponing our planned trip to Holland, Michigan to our return trip. Once in Ludington we visited a microbrewery in town and to the delight of our dogs spent a night in a motel room. In the brewery our dogs provided a rich source of interaction with the folks around us. I do not remember any earth-shaking interactions with folks in Ludington. The beer was decent, but the pizza was strange and fair.

Getting on the ferry and the ferry ride itself was a different story. It was rich with human interactions. Folks with dogs get singled out and their vehicles are boarded last. We had fun walking the dogs before boarding and interacting with fellow dog owners. On board you kept running into the same folks and mid-voyage you were escorted down below to check on the pouches. We really got to know one couple with whom we discussed their vehicle set-up (Ford F-150 pickup with a hybrid package and a camper shell), in particular because we learned that they drove to Alaska in 2024. They also gave us the name of one of their favorite camping spots on the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan.

The ferry ride was absolutely fun and relaxing. The ferry (the Badger) is an old coal-fired steamship that was built in 1953. Naturally, that fact created a bond between me and the boat, since I was born the same year. The boat served as a railroad ferry, and you can still see the railroad tracks on the boat’s vehicle deck. The ride was 4 hours and the waters on the lake were relatively calm. The boat has two restaurants/snack bars, gift shop, museum and of course the famous Badger Bingo.

The Badger

Breakfast in Manchester, MI

Lighthouse selfie

Boarding the Badger (see the old train tracks?)

The end of a trip (10/2/2025)

A CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) log-cabin in the woods on a lake, not a bad thing to end a vacation. The cabin was built around the mid-1930s and obviously was restored and upgraded over time. I remember staying in one some 15 years ago; the floors were rough-sawn planks, now they look like (fake) oak flooring; the kitchen is upgraded, as is the bathroom. Now it even has a covered porch and a nice steel and wire baluster. But it is still rustic; you can see the lake through the trees. An occasional vehicle passes by on the road below.

A sixteen-day vacation book-ended by two 2-day stays in cabins at Virginia state parks: Shenandoah River State Park going, and Douthat State Park returning. It is nice to unwind and relax for two days after 14 days on the road. I tried to make it less frantic, for example, we stayed two days in Door County, Wisconsin at a camping (Wagon trail) that was absolutely one of our favorites. Although I tried to keep each day of driving under 200 miles or theoretically under 4 hours of traveling, we never got to our next destination before 4 pm. Too many fun side trips to natural areas to walk the dogs, or interesting lunch stops. There were the McDonalds, Subways, Arby and Wendys stops for lunch as well, not endorsing anyone.

We were off grid in Douthat, and most of our trip we have tried to keep away from the news. Some news was not easy to avoid since we tried to keep our Wordle streak going and had to sneak a peak at the New York times headlines every time we wanted to solve the various puzzles.

But there were times that we had to look. This was the case when Donna said: “Oh shit, Kim mentions on her Facebook page something about a shooting in Michigan.” We had just exited Michigan the day before and were on our way home driving through central Ohio on our way the glorious Hocking Hills when she mentioned that. When it was her turn to drive, I had to look up the event, to find out we had our next mass shooting, now in a Mormon church. It is extremely tragic to lose all this life to senseless gun violence. Moreover, it is unavoidable to ignore events like this, in particular since I am now the president of a church; a very liberal church at that.

It felt good to be away from church, although I am only president since July 1. I enjoy the challenge and managing the church in a neutral, balanced way. However, it is demanding a lot of patients and maturity from me. I like to joke, be cynical, crack dad (or bad) jokes, but now I must behave myself.

Highlights from these 16 days of vacation? Can I really call it a vacation when you are retired and tell folks that every day is Saturday? When I asked a gas station attendant how he was doing, he replied with OK and asked me how my day was. I told him great, especially since I am retired and every day is Saturday. He replied with “I am retarded too.” Anyway, the highlights include our brief walk on the Appalachian Trail; the visit to our friends in Michigan (for whatever reason); the ferry ride across Lake Michigan; all three camp sites in Wisconsin (Wagon Trail, O.J. Fuller and Big Knob); the Sleeping Bear Dunes; the Hocking Hills and now off grid at Douthat State Park.

It has been a fabulous trip; we have seen and learned a lot. I will write more about it in future posts.  Finally also, I now have set foot in all 48 states in the lower 48. Still missing are Hawaii and Alaska. Oh, what a challenge.

Last leg of the trip first; Douthat SP

Yes, we traveled with our dogs

Relaxing on the porch of the CCC cabin at Douthat SP.

Hocking Hill, SP

Made it to Holland, Michigan

A nice night at a campground without mosquitoes

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Seuk Choix Pointe Lighthouse

Camping on the shores of Lake Michigan, sand and mosquitoes 

Ellison Bluff State Natural Area, Wisconsin

On the Badger, the ferry from Ludington (MI) to Manitowoc (WI) a 4 hour ride across Lake Michigan

I am older than I have ever been (04/21/2024)

I am 70 years old, going on 71, the oldest I have ever been, at least when you do not believe in reincarnation. Otherwise in a previous life I could have been a turtle, elephant or some other creature that outlives humans. That is of course also assuming that these animals did not meet an untimely death as the result of poachers or worse some millionaire schmuck who killed me on safari.

Crap, I am not getting any younger, just older and older, but as the cliché goes, “it beats the alternative.” A lot of elderly like me joke about it, like “hey, I woke up this morning, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” or “I checked the obituaries this morning and I wasn't in it.” But seriously, I am at the point that the obituaries of celebrities are my favorite part in the newspaper. I want to see how old they were when they died and what the cause was of their demise.

Our church has what are called fellowship circles, where a group of six to eight folks get together and exchange their feeling over a specific topic. It is meant to be personal and a way of getting to know each other a bit better and create friendships. Since it is a Unitarian Church, the character of God is never brought up; we don’t pray or talk about religion, maybe with the exception of bashing it. Believers in God, Christ, Allah, Buddha, humanists and even atheists are all welcome in the Unitarian Church.

My circle is held in the afternoon and as a logical result it consists of retired folks, everyone is in their late sixties and seventies. The topic of the day this past week was spring and reawakening of nature after the winter torpor. Maybe not surprising, but when my wife asked me when I got home how the meeting was, my answer was that we discussed old age, mortality, and our anxiety about getting older. It was somewhat amazing how we got there, but it seems that I am not the only one struggling with the impending decline. Now here they say that human bonds, friendships and fellowship are the prerequisite to living longer. I hope that talking about death contributes to aging gracefully and gives us a few more extra quality years.

This week we also met a neighbor of ours at a party at one of our local breweries. We had not seen her in some time, and she let us know why. Her husband, a retired NASA scientist was diagnosed of coming down with Alzheimer. He is in his mid-70s and they have been at neurologists trying to find a way of slowing down the decline. Another (male) friend was there and he told me he has osteoporosis. He is 75 years-old, very skinny and a retired NASA scientist. I read somewhere that the 70-ies are supposed to be the “go-go” years, the 80-ies the “slow-go” years, while at your 90th birthday you enter the “no-go” decade. I better get going, I've got nine more years of fun ahead of me.

This old man and his wife!

Nomads, days 25 and 26 (9/27/2023)

So, we made it to Flagstaff and camped at a KOA campsite again. Although we hate to admit it, they have become one of our favored establishments. They are predictable and have relatively roomy sites and usually very friendly. What did we do the next two days? I for one was very excited, knowing that I would really immerse myself in the ecosystem that I dearly love: the southern Colorado Plateau high altitude desert. We were going to meet up with friends for the next two days and visit places we used to live in. But first things first.

Day 25: Flagstaff (AZ) – Gallup (NM) – Albuquerque

Day 26: Albuquerque – Santa Fe – Tres Piedras – Alamosa (CO)

It was especially day 25 that was so familiar to me. We had lived in Gallup for three years in the early 1990s and this was the next homecoming for us. We were able to contact Gwen, one of our best friends when we lived there and were able to visit her for three hours before moving on to meet our next batch of friends. But first Gallup.

The drive to Gallup was amazing; it included I-40 at its worse, Navajo souvenir shops, the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks, and a lot of reminiscing (“been here, remember this or that”). The entrance into New Mexico was as dramatic as I remember. The landscape changed from flat, high-altitude desert to the red rocks and cliffs that Gallup is famous for. Gallup looked the same, except that I think they moved the Walmart (which was overrun every weekend by folks from the reservation who came down to shop). At least I think it was. They had built what looked like town houses along the interstate. Gwen told us later that it was low-income housing. And there was a dog park in Gallup. It was great catching up with an old friend talking about old friends that we were not able to catch up with.

A little about the desert. Short grass, fourwing saltbush, sagebrush, an occasional juniper and other assorted plants. Having lived in Gallup, the species (looking from the van) and the sparseness felt so familiar. These were all species I had done research on during my career out west or know from the bonsai folks I follow. We spent a lot of time with Gwen and her late husband Mark visiting spots in the desert, looking for petrified wood, hiking the woods and exploring the lave fields and lava tubed in the Mal Pais.

The road from Gallup to Albuquerque was similar, we drove through the lave fields near Grants ("remember camping on the ridge with our daughter in her play pen and us almost starting a forest fire or meeting those folks from Florida who decided to travel the U.S. after their home was destroyed by hurricane Andrew?") before descending into the Rio Grande are. Maybe with the exception of the Indian Casinos, it was also familiar. I remembered the day that I was varnishing the floor in our living room, and I ran out of varnish. I jumped in the car and drove to Lowes in Albuquerque for another can and drove back. This was a three-hour trip, and it was snowing all the way. I continued varnishing when I arrived home. The floor looked great afterwards. Ah, to be young again!

In Albuquerque we met our friends Jean and Steve who were moving to Arizona for a temporary job. This was a motel night for us; we ended up going to dinner together and afterwards we said our goodbyes. Time for us to sleep in because of a date we had in Santa Fe after 10:30, while they got up early so they could reach the Phoenix area by nightfall.

The next day we had a wonderful get together with Ruth and Terry in Santa Fe. Terry and I used to commute together to the coal mine we worked at, and they took care of our daughter when we needed it. We had a great time catching up and getting pointers for our trip further north and east. At their recommendation we followed the route to Tres Piedras and a stop-over at the home that Aldo Leopold built as the time of his marriage and acceptance as head forester of the Carson National Forest. I felt like stepping on hallowed ground. It felt very special!

We ended our trip in Alamosa at the KOA campground (did I mention our like of KOAs?). We had spent some time in Alamosa in the past to attend a wedding between good friends, which is the reason why we chose this for our trip home. Jean and Steve told us that I-40 sucked; moreover, we wanted to stay away from the large highways. Alamosa is at 7500 feet elevation and famous for the Sand Dunes National Parks. It was predicted to be 34 degrees that night. A microbrewery and dinner out later we settled into the van, small space-heater on and hoped for the best. Ah what a grant two days in familiar territory and with old friends.

A quick walk in Flagstaff in the Pondarosa pine forest near the KOA

The desert

On the road between Santa Fe and Tres Piedras (honey I am home)

Aldo Leopold's home

Goodbye Fairfax (4/4/2023)

In one of my latest Facebook posts I quote the famous Anthony Bourdain:

"Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride."

When he traveled, Bourdain had an entourage, camera men/women, a producer, sound and light engineers, makeup folks, etc. I travel alone. He was lonely. Now I am not depressed like him, not contemplating suicide, or anything like it. But yes, I am writing this in my motel room, again, from a different town, on my goodbye tour. I’ll write about that town (Wytheville) later in a next post. This post is meant to be about my visit to Fairfax and Falls Church two weeks ago.

But back to Bourdain for a paragraph. In Fairfax I was able to get together with an old friend at a local brewery and then have dinner at a local Thai restaurant (Sisters Thai) on the first day. On the second day I went to a local Whiskey tasting room/restaurant (MacMillan Whisky Room) and although I love my whiskeys and bourbons, I decided to have a Manhattan (or three) and a potpie. I closed that evening off with a coffee and gelato at a place next door (Dolcezza). I was a happy camper, both evenings.

The Thai restaurant, whiskey bar and the gelato place were all establishments I had never been before, so in a sense they qualify to what Bourdain was talking about. Meeting my friend as well, and then what happened at the whiskey bar. Let’s go into the details.

I was sitting at the bar, and the folks I sat next to soon moved away. A lady sat next to me with a book. I estimate she was in her early 50s and before I knew it, we had a fun discussion going on. We were talking about hiking, marathons (which she runs), social issues, whiskey, our backgrounds, our respective parents, and so forth. Just an enjoyable time. She ended up being a kindergarten teacher and when her husband travels, she tries different restaurants in the area. She had never been there. After an hour or so a guy sat next to us who tried to dominate the conversation talking about the book he wrote.

Eventually it was time to leave, and on our way out of the door, we both were going opposite ways, she told me: “Funny, I had fun talking to you, and to think I am an introvert, which is why I brought the book. So, I could hide in it, and I did not read a word.” If you are a regular reader of my blog, you should know, I call myself an introvert as well. We had a chuckle when I told her that as we split our ways and I went for my gelato and back to my hotel room; a very Bourdain experience.

My friend David and I grabbing a brew at the Cabous prior to going to dinner at the Thai Sisters in Fairfax.  We have been good friends for the past 15 or so years.

The After Life (4/9/2021)

It has been a little over a year now that all hell broke loose. The now so dreaded Corona virus. We thought it would be a few months when we were told to shelter in place, but here we are, vaccinated and still teleworking, masked when we go out, forever changed. If there ever was a time that we lost our innocence it was this past year.

I read an article in the New York Times on where we to go now: post pandemic. My question is whether we are currently really post pandemic. The Spanish Flue took two years to resolve. Variants are popping up all over the place. However, it really made me think what this year did to me personally, in my relationships with others and in my outlook to the future.

I am happy to report that no one in my direct circle has died of COVID. I know of a few who have contracted the disease. A close friend Chuck who told me he and his wife got it between Christmas and New Year. A colleague of mine got it too. Her husband brought it with him when he visited his father in South Carolina. Thank goodness both just lost their taste and got sick and tired. Unlike with some, their only long-lasting effect seemed to have been the loss of taste and smell. I did hear of friends of friends whose relatives died of COVID, but none too close to me.

How did I change over this past year? For those of you who have been following me, 2020 has been my least productive blog year since I started this blog in 2013. Was I hoping to ever becoming an influencer (reviewing Virginia wineries, breweries, scenic areas, giving lectures and talks), making money and retiring on easy street with this blog? That hope evaporated last year. Only 19 posts, not as many hits as I would hope, and as I mentioned before, I would first need to allow advertising on my blog, something I never have.

So what was the reason? COVID depression? I do not think so; I became more introspective during that year of self-isolation. I tried to stay away from politics although it was difficult especially during an election year, after the killing of George Floyd, and with a virus and election denier like the former occupant of the Whitehouse in power. Not being originally from the U.S. and socially conscious, I ate this all up, but again, I tried not to bore too many of you all with my political views. The result, only 19 posts. Just before Christmas last year, I promised I would write more. However, guess how many post I wrote in March this year. Zero!

What happened the year of COVID and will it change me forever? I really threw myself back on my bonsai hobby. I did not watch more T.V.; I did a little more reading. I still have not finished the book “Overstory”; I pick it up, read it and put it down. I love it, but it is depressing at the same time. I did read the book “Rage” by Bob Woodward. Assuming it was well researched, I found it eye opening, well written and it basically enforced all my political views.

I watched bonsai YouTube channels, almost every evening. COVID depression, right? Alternatively, was it bonsai depression? No such thing, bonsai for me is very important nowadays. Currently, my bonsai trees are my form of therapy or meditation. I walk by my trees at least two or three times a day, examine them closely, and watch the progress. That tree has put out another leaf, oh look what is happening here or there. I am in love with this tree or that one! Finally, after a year of isolation with YouTube and my trees, I finally have the audacity to think that I can design a credible bonsai, know how to take care of them, and to advice someone when they ask a bonsai question on Facebook. This is quite the accomplishment after 33 years of dabbling in the hobby and studying it even longer than that.

I built this bench this past summer and I think I still do not have enough room for my trees.  In the foreground is a privet that I transplanted into this training pot this year.

How else have I changed, or how will I go on post COVID, if there is such a thing? I think I will value my friends more, and ignore those who do not agree with me. Value nature and the environment. I still remember so well how clean and clear the air was in May and June last year when there were so many fewer cars on the road. My wife still hopes I am kidding when I tell her that my next car will be a Tesla or maybe some other electric vehicle. She is a huge environmentalist as well; however, still a bit skeptical about electric vehicles, their range and their capabilities.

For the rest, I need to take care of myself, mentally and physically. During the past year, I lost approximately 10 lbs. This is still not enough in my eyes. I would like to lose another 10. Somehow, I have plateaued (or is it bottomed out?). Walking on average 80,000 steps or more per week according to my Fitbit, appears not to be enough. I need to do more, live healthier. The husband of a friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the uncle of my wife recently died at the age of 76, and a dear neighbor was found dead on his doorsteps, a heart attack in his late 70s. All too young; I have this fear that the day I retire I will die of some weird disease or get diagnosed with cancer and have weeks or months to live. Never able to enjoy the fruits of my long (illustrious?) career. In other words, retirement is on my mind. As you know, my last post mentions how much I enjoy my job, teaching and retirement weighs heavy on me. Oh well, hopefully I am not damned if I do and damned if I don’t.

20-20 Hindsight (1/5/2021)

Merian Webster defines 20-20 Hindsight as follows: "the full knowledge and complete understanding that one has about an event only after it has happened."

Well some year we have had. I have joked that when the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2021 we can actually claim 20-20 hindsight.  2020 is finally over!  Although, it might take historians a long time to have a complete understanding of what happened that year.  It has been a wild and crazy one. 

It all stopped for me in March 11.  I was working from home after two days of teaching in Lynchburg  (a bit more about that later), when word came down that the state went in the COVID-19 lock down.  I have not traveled since and been to Richmond twice for a half hour.  I realize that I am fairly egocentric here; however, this is my blog  and I assume you all read and follow the news.

If being locked up wasn't bad enough, we had to do this under Donald tRump, the now expected temporary occupant of the Whitehouse.  I think in hindsight (there is that word again) he was completely unprepared, uninterested and unwilling to deal with the Corona virus.  I read Bob Woodward's book (Rage) on the subject, and it is amazing.  tRump was only interested in the end of the impeachment trial, the upcoming reelection, and the stock market.  More and more were we seeing how he was trying to undo anything Obama had done and literally screw up this country.

And then we got the murder of George Floyd.  The shit hit the fan and it lit the country on fire (in addition the the wildfires that were raging in the west).  tRump proved that he really was without empathy and he could only call for law and order.  In addition to being without empathy, tRump also proved he was without religion and obviously analphabetic, holding the bible upside down, while grandstanding in front of a church in Washington.  Speculations are that his law and order stance is what eventually would be the reason he lost the elections (but historians will be the better judge of that).  But now at the beginning of the new year, he is still fighting the outcome of the elections.  I think one thing is for sure: history will not be kind to the tRump presidency.  He ran this country like his company.  Into the ground, bankrupting it, morally and financially.

On a more personal level, my past couple of posts have been more introspective about my so called house arrest under the Corona virus.  I wrote about my teleworking and my lack of inspiration lately; however, my mind and body have been busy.  We restored our deck this summer and that was a huge job.  I split a large oak by hand for our wood stove.  Of course, I also spent a lot of time with my bonsai. I did a lot of reading and thinking.  

One thing that fascinates me is moral and religious hypocrisy.  This is something that is sorely missing in the current Whitehouse, with a lot of political leaders and with a lot of religious leaders.  Politically, we encountered Lindsey Graham after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died or Ted Cruz who after all the abuse he, his wife and his father got from tRump still happily defends him, hoping to gain politically.

On a personal level I was fascinated by Jerry Falwell and his downfall from Liberty University in Lynchburg, the last place I visited before lockdown.  I wrote about Falwell and the university in this post.  It was uncovered that good old Jerry enjoyed watching his wife having sex with other (younger) men.  He was supposedly sitting in a chair next to the bed, enjoying his private porn show.  I have not seen reports on whether he was dressed or not, and what else he was doing at the time (I want to bet that he wasn't reading the newspaper).  It seems that there are quite a few men in healthy marriages who enjoy this type of relationship either as a way of being humiliated (for lacking something somewhere) or just the joy of sharing.  This is an interesting article on the subject.  In other words, I am not condemning it; I am condemning Jerry's hypocrisy.  So yes, it fascinates me that someone at the head of such a prominent religious institution who claims to be the north star of the moral compass has his or her human quirks that eventually bring them to their knees.  To think that all the conservative politicians would visit Jerry and Liberty U. to get their blessing, and that students would need to stay celibate, while Jerry had his private porn show, curtesy of his wife.  

The hypocrisy of it all.  But then I read that Joel Osteen is so filthy rich that finally his flock is seeing right through him and some are abandoning him.  The poverty we have thanks to tRump, COVID, his tax cuts for the wealthy and running the economy into the ground, while these mega-church pastors, University and company presidents are getting richer and living the life!  Lines at food banks are longer than ever, and Jerry got a severance package worth a few million.  But our millionaire politicians can only come up with $600 for the regular folks, which does not even cover the rent. You get the message: hypocrisy abound in 2020.

Well folks some year it has been.  Let us not look back too long, but hope for a better tomorrow.  Happy New Year!

So how is your first pandemic going? (3/30/2020)

So how is your first pandemic going? At least for many of us it is, unless you are 102 years old and reading this darn blog, and if you do, you are out of your mind. I guess I am not counting HIV, SARS, Ebola and whatever else we had between 1918 and now. I am not telling you that those were not severe, but this one eats the cake. 

I have been social distancing for two weeks and a couple of days now. At least I get to see my wife at the end of the day. When I walk the dog, I get to see the regular folks walking down the street, and we greet each other from a distance. I also get to say hello to my coworkers every day during our check-in. This weekend we had a virtual dinner date with friends where we sat down on “WhatsApp” and had dinner together. Then we had a Zoom church service and a Zoom church meeting afterwards. While fun, rewarding and satisfying, nothing beats a one on one meeting with friends or colleagues. So, euphemistically, I will keep calling it house arrest. 

So how else do I cope with it all? I noticed that I am reading more. I am really enjoying a book entitled “The Invention of Nature, Alexander von Humboldt’s new world” by Andrea Wulf. I have increased my time on the social networks, watch more bonsai video podcasts and while in the beginning I did watch more news, that has diminished somewhat over time. I know the drill now, I know it will be a matter of time we are all going to get Covid-19, or the Corona virus. 

Why am I so certain about catching the darn virus? I think it is unavoidable. I just hope that I don’t catch it when the virus is at its peak, and I need to fight someone for a ventilator. I also hope that when I get it, they figured out what the medicine is to treat it, or maybe that they have developed a vaccine. Lastly, viruses that don’t mutate very fast, and this one does not seem to do that, are supposed to lose their potency or virulence after some time; that is after replicating in other people’s body over and over. In other words, the famous flattening of the curve. But enough of that. I want to report how my life in the pandemic is going. 

It was nice this week to be able to get out twice. I quickly ran out to mail two letters, get fertilizer for my bonsais and medicine for Jake the dog. It was nice to see people in real life, let me tell you. The second time was to take my father-in-law to the ophthalmologist. I stayed in the car but managed to sneak away to the Starbucks drive through for a cup of coffee. A real treat after two weeks without a Starbucks visit! It felt awkward to drive; the roads were relatively empty, except of course the drive-through at Starbucks. I think it took me 10 or 15 minutes to get through it. But it was worth it. 

Finally!  My first store bought Starbucks in a cardboard cup in two weeks!  I missed that face so much.

At home, life has changed; I have graduated from weekend cook to almost fulltime cook. I bake bread whenever I think it is needed. In the past it was mostly on Fridays. I am now the main dog walker and do not have any issue getting my daily 10,000 steps in. 

The latest bread I made: an 80% biga bread.  We are really enjoying this one.

While as a boy from the tropics I do like the heat, I don’t like it that it is getting warm that quickly, because it means that tick and mosquito season is almost here. It means that our back yard and the woods behind our home are going to be that haven for those pesky critters again. It means either pesticides on your body or no more walks in the woods until sometime in October. No we do not treat our yard, because we have bees. It means walking through the neighborhood with all its excitement as I mentioned in a previous blog post <here>. But truthfully walking in the neighborhood is fun. You learn a lot about talking with your neighbors; you need some social interaction. 

Probably the strangest thing is that I have taken up the routine of showering around 4 pm in the afternoon. It was something my mother used to do, and I am not sure if it is genetically ingrained or why it is. There are not many things that my mother did that I am particularly proud off and would like to mimic. However, it allows us to sleep a little later, get the coffee going and my wife of to work and get my day started. On top of that I always remember overhearing Jo-Jo, a female co-worker of mine in the 1990s telling Kathrine, another female co-worker how she would never allow a man sleep in her bed who had not showered before getting in bed. Moreover, if he blew his nose in the shower (without a tissue I assume), he would be kicked out of the house immediately; I am not sure if she even allowed him to put his clothes on. The idea of getting in bed clean always stood with me; I wonder if that is why my mother did it. But sorry, I do blow my nose in the shower; I know, this is too much information. 

I have cleared this nose in plenty of showers and sinks in my life and will continue doing so.

Oh well, just reaching out to all my readers about my (and your) fucking first pandemic experiences. Are we worried? Not for ourselves as much as for our 93-year-old father-in-law who is getting more and more depressed in self isolation. Hope you are all doing well medically, physically and mentally. Hope you all have enough toilet paper and have not yet killed a spouse, kid, pet or other loved one (canary?). Stay tuned and let me know how things are going with you.

New year's resolution in Norfolk(1/3/2016)

Happy New Year everyone!

This year I personally resolve  to be more culturally open; to get a life, to get out more, and to have fun!   I know that I often take myself too serious and get easily upset by what I perceive to be criticism.  I think I've gotten better over the years but as Mark Mason describes in a blog post, it is like trying to stop the Titanic and avoid the damn iceberg, it is so imprinted in you by your past and difficult to change.

Yes, we need to have more fun in life.  Like this little guy, he seems to have a load of fun riding his horn made by a Central American Indian tribe, a long time ago,  It survived all the centuries and he still has that mischievous grin on his face!  But then it helps when you are cast in clay.  I wonder what he has seen all that time.  It's kind of a pity that he is locked up in a museum case, his journey appears to be over, but he's still grinning.

We visited the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk on Sunday where he was locked up and that made me realize what I've missed for a while now.

The entrance to the Chrysler Museum

I can almost not remember when the last time was that I visited a museum.  The Chrysler is a great place to start if you want to see a good museum for the first time or for the first time in a long time.  It has a little bit of everything.  From ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts to a Picasso and more modern paintings.  It also has one of the best glass art collections in the world.  On top of that it's free!

Looking at the Picasso through the doorway 

This is actually a glass sculpture.
There is so darn much symbolism here!

I really believe art enriches our lives, whether you make it, perform it, watch it, or just look at it.  Don't forget, in it's purest form art is the most perfect expression of the artist's free will.  Nobody tells the artist what to paint, what to compose or what to make (may be not some of the commercial stuff).  At least four of the five photographs show pieces of art that to me appear to be the artist's ultimate expression of free will.  Art is even an expression of our own free will as the public, we can interpret art the way we want to, regardless of what the little piece of paper next to the art work says about it.  What a novel concept!

To me art is like listening to a good concert (which is art) or sailing (sometimes an art too): you can only be in the moment when looking at art and you cannot think of anything else; all the troubles and worries are forgotten at that moment.

This year, resolve to visit more museums, to broaden your horizon and to talk to people who think differently than you.  There is plenty of superficial interactions between people but when was the last time you had a deep intelligent discussion with someone else?  You actually might learn something. Life is becoming too much like the brothers in the movie Nebraska while watching the football game.

I will do the same.  One thing I realized this weekend was that I really need more culture, arts, philosophy, or just fun intelligent interaction between intelligent human beings.  That is the way I want to grow!  Maybe less self improvement books and more philosophy books and deep thinking.  As a nomad who travels and often lives in motel rooms I will have some alone time to think as well, I will use that time wisely, I will read, write, hopefully find interesting people to talk to, but like in the past I will also still hike and enjoy nature.

 

On cyber communities (12/7/2015)

On the road again, for the last trip of the year.  It started pretty darn shitty, but finally made it to my destination as of this writing.  Wytheville is a sleepy town in "them hills" of Virginia. I have this reputation with my colleagues of being in love with this town, and for one reason or another I used to go here very often; at least until they discovered it.

When on the road I rely a lot on my (artificial) cyber communities that we all seem to have amassed around us.  I was reminded about that today during my drive over here listening to National Public Radio's Fresh Air by Terry Gross.  She was interviewing Rick Moody about his new book "Hotels of North America".  The book is written as a set of hotel reviews.

It made me think of how I live and depend on my cyber community when on the road:

• Yelp (for restaurant reviews)
• LinkedIn (for support form like-minded professionals, kind of like a support groups)
• Facebook (mostly friends)
• Google+ (my blog, more artsy community and bonsai enthusiasts)
• Google Maps (for traffic updates and restaurant recommendations)
• Weather Underground (all about weather)

Within these communities there are also special groups that I'm a member of.  For example in Facebook I'm a member of our church group, our neighborhood group, the Virginia birders group, and a bread bakers group.  In LinkedIn I'm a member of 20+ groups.  Driving over, I started realizing that I have a lot of fake or maybe artificial friends. The interesting thing is too that all these sites keep suggesting more groups that you might be interested in joining, like trying to suck you in deeper and deeper.

I'm always amused by my 88 year old father-in-law  (who reads these posts and will probably give me grief for mentioning him), because he seems so bemused by the fact that Facebook knows so (too) much about him and it keeps suggesting potential new friends to him or trying to invite him to join LinkedIn.  He is correct it is somewhat intrusive, just look at that list of communities that know my preferences etc. and keeps tabs on me.

But yes, without Yelp, I would never have found those great restaurants, or avoided those supposedly lousy ones.  I also write reviews, usually only of good experiences and only once or twice of really horrible dining experiences (I hated those professors that graded you on your mistakes and did not look at the things you did correct).  I never review a place to settle a score or to make someone look bad; I try to be a responsible partner in my community.  Some don't; this morning there was a thing on morning edition about women being taken advantage off through on-line dating, another one of those communities.

Internet communities are great things for a lot of people including me.  They put all your friends together: it allowed me to rediscover old long lost friends; it gave me support groups; it gave me traffic information; and I had some absolutely great inexpensive food.  So yes, I like my friends on my cyber groups, my real friends or virtual friends.  Moreover, traveling is lonely and it is better than getting silly in a bar.  But I realize as well, nothing is better than real life friends in real flesh that you can talk to, have a drink with and just be with.