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Podcast Episode: Irish Travelogue
Note. The underlying article can be found here: https://ajprokop.com/2026/09/14/irish-travelogue/ Pip: There is exactly one post on the docket today, and it is a time capsule — a travel journal from 1997 that survived several computer deaths and one very determined blogger. Mara: Andrew Prokop found a long-lost journal from a work trip to Galway, Ireland,… Continue reading
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Irish Travelogue
Geographically, Ireland is a medium-sized rural island that is slowly but steadily being consumed by sheep. Dave Barry I did a lot of business travel over my long career. Looking back, I realize that it was too much. Both my family and I struggled with the long absences. I didn’t see it at the time,… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Things We Keep, The Stories They Tell
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/09/07/the-things-we-keep-the-stories-they-tell/ Pip: A coffee mug, a space-race tin, and a plastic cup from a baseball game that happened before some of our listeners were born — welcome to Can You Hear Me Now, where the objects on your desk apparently have opinions. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s recent writing… Continue reading
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The Things We Keep, The Stories They Tell
Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of the world by telling stories. Yuval Noah Harari Frequent readers of my blog know that nostalgia plays a significant role in my writing. In fact, just last week in Lost in the In-Between I wrote, “I catch nostalgia like a cold.” While I don’t… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Lost in the In-Between
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/31/lost-in-the-in-between/ Pip: There is a particular kind of melancholy that arrives in early September, right on schedule, whether you asked for it or not. Mara: Andrew Prokop is sitting with exactly that feeling in this episode — the uneasy space between what was and what’s coming, from… Continue reading
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Lost in the In-Between
I feel the taste of summer’s last kissa fond farewella sad goodbyeher warm embrace wears scarlet wingsriding retreat on cool autumn breezes Andrew Prokop It’s not even September and yet I feel the mutterings of autumn. The sun is slightly lower in the sky. The sumacs are already turning red and orange. The loons have… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Made Bed and Other Tales of Transformation
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/24/the-made-bed-and-other-tales-of-transformation/ Pip: There’s a podcast called Can You Hear Me Now, which is either a question about recovery and dignity or a very pointed complaint about cell service — and today, Andrew Prokop makes a case for the former. Mara: He does. Today’s episode is about how… Continue reading
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The Made Bed and Other Tales of Transformation
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Aristotle Linda and I recently sat down for dinner with our friend, Keith. Keith is a retired social worker who previously managed housing for at-risk adults. His tenants included everyone from folks dealing with mental health issues to those with debilitating addictions. These people… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: A Myth Understanding
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/17/a-myth-understanding/ Pip: There’s a slab of concrete near a waterfall in Minneapolis, and the question of whether a president ever stood in it is doing more philosophical work than most graduate seminars. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s recent writing takes that question somewhere worth following — into what myths… Continue reading
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A Myth Understanding
A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Rollo May As many of my readers know, I am an avid biker — as in bicycles. With the exception of the rare rainy day cancellation, I ride from the spring thaw to… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: WannaHug — Values-Driven Shopping With a Twist
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/10/wannahug-values-driven-shopping-with-a-twist/ Second note. I am disappointed that Mara fails to mention that William is the founder of WannaHug. This is still beta technology and I am unable to correct that with specific prompting. Pip: There is a company out there that will sell you a hoodie and… Continue reading
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WannaHug — Values-Driven Shopping With a Twist
You can’t make positive choices for the rest of your life without an environment that makes those choices easy, natural, and enjoyable. Deepak Chopra As a child, I loved going grocery shopping with Mom. I would like to think she appreciated my help, but for her it may simply have been a chance to spend… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Let it Go
Note. The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/08/03/let-it-go/ Pip: There’s a podcast called Can You Hear Me Now, and today it has something to say about the things we protect so carefully we forget to actually use them. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s writing this week works through one central tension — holding on versus letting… Continue reading
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Let it Go
Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. Rumi Warning: This is a bit of a convoluted, shaggy-dog article. It’s my hope that if you hang in long enough, it will eventually make sense. That is assuming any of my articles ever make sense. Despite not being related, I called my parents’ best… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/27/knockin-on-heavens-door/ Pip: There’s a moment when you realize you’ve been closer to the end than the beginning for a while now — and instead of panicking, you sit down and pick funeral songs. Mara: That’s exactly where Andrew Prokop takes us today. The episode covers one extended… Continue reading
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Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
And were an epitaph to be my story I’d have a short one ready for my own. I would have written of me on my stone: I had a lover’s quarrel with the world. Robert Frost I am not the kind of guy who overthinks death. My life is too full and rich for that.… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Boomer’s Guide to Surviving Technology
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/20/the-boomers-guide-to-surviving-technology/ Pip: There is a certain irony in a blog called Can You Hear Me Now being primarily about whether anyone can keep up with the thing they are hearing. Mara: Andrew Prokop is asking exactly that question today — how retired men navigate a world that… Continue reading
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The Boomer’s Guide to Surviving Technology
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts Every other Monday, my men’s retirement circle meets for connection, conversation, and friendship. It’s the most formal of all my groups, but the formality is still fairly loose. We begin with check-ins… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/13/july-meditations-reflections-travelogue-and-scrapbook/ Pip: July — the month where some of us turn another year older, and at least one of us turns it into an entire philosophy of living. Mara: That’s the territory Andrew Prokop covers in his latest post — birthday inventory, a long-running Lake Superior tradition,… Continue reading
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July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
My life, I realize suddenly, is July. Childhood is June, and old age is August, but here it is, July, and my life, this year, is July inside of July. Rick Bass July is very important to me. First and foremost, it is the month I was born. It’s hard to imagine what Mom endured… Continue reading
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