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Randomness
This wretched brain gave way, and I became a wreck at random driven, without one glimpse of reason or heaven. Thomas Moore Linda and I are up at Lake Sallie for our annual cabin opening extended weekend. This involves cleaning up mouse poop, putting patio furniture back into place, coordinating with plumbers and dock installers,… Continue reading
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Healthy Sexuality
Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. Alice Walker Note: I tried to not use the word “sexuality” in the title of this article, but the alternates were either too clunky or sounded as if I was trying too hard to sound clever. “Life is… Continue reading
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My Future Self
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Abraham Lincoln A little more than a week ago, I attended a retreat for older men. We discussed a number of topics during the course of the day, but the one that stood out the most was developing and maintaining healthy sexuality. Due to… Continue reading
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As Time Goes By
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. William Shakespeare I recently stumbled upon a website of world events throughout time. By poking around the years, I was able… Continue reading
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No Kings Three
Gotta get down to itSoldiers are cutting us downShould have been done long agoWhat if you knew her andFound her dead on the ground?How can you run when you know? Neil Young It has been a little more than a week since Linda and I attended the No Kings Three rally at the Minnesota State… Continue reading
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Everything is Everything
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. Robert Frost 40-plus years ago one of my dearest friends spent three years in prison. For the sake of his privacy, I will call him Greg. I didn’t know Greg back then and he tells me that he was not… Continue reading
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It’s Your Story, Keep it Real
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. John Lennon Every Wednesday at 10:00, I gather with 10 to 15 similarly aged men for conversation and fellowship. We often start our meeting with the big news of the day, but it doesn’t take much to shift into subjects more personal and relevant… Continue reading
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Point and Click
Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawerI was taken by a photograph of youThere were one or two I know that youWould have liked a little moreBut they didn’t show your spirit quite as trueYou were turning around to see who was behind youAnd I took your childish laughter by surpriseAnd at the… Continue reading
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If I Knew Now What I Knew Then
Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be revelation. Eileen Caddy I recently found a copy of C. S. Lewis’ The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in one my neighborhood’s Little Free Libraries. It must be at… Continue reading
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On Finding the Sacred
There are four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love. Lord Byron If you have been following along with my Coming Of Age journey, you are… Continue reading
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I Want You to Want Me
All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. Charles M. Schultz Want (verb): To wish, crave, demand, or desire. Need (verb): To require. The way I read the newspaper hasn’t changed in a very long time. I begin with a quick glance at the front page before turning to… Continue reading
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Rising to the Level of Love
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Tao Tzu I recently finished reading Luis Alberto Urrea’s The House of Broken Angels. Like most books I read these days, I found it in one of the many Little Free Libraries scattered around my neighborhood. Thankfully, I live among… Continue reading
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All I Want is the Truth
The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant. Maximilien Robespierre Last week, I found myself in the middle of an uncomfortable LinkedIn conversation after the following meme appeared on my feed. The meme was purportedly tweeted by KFC corporate about Black History Month and it’s… Continue reading
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Amen
The Amen of nature is always a flower. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. On Saturday, January 24, I did something I haven’t done since I was a kid. As most Americans should know, that was the day that Alex Pretti was brutally beaten and murdered by ICE agents. The Twin Cities were still grieving for Renee… Continue reading
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On Death and Loss
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross After a break for the holidays, I am back to my Coming of Age journey. So much has happened since the pause. Most importantly, ICE… Continue reading
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We Are All Terrorists Now
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Mahatma Gandhi Renee Good was killed because she took the wrong way home after dropping her child off at school. Shortly before she was shot in the face, she spoke these words to her murderer. “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you.”… Continue reading
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Where Do We Go From Here?
Some of them knew pleasure. Some of them knew pain. And for some of them, it was only the moment that mattered. Jackson Browne Minnesota is in the news again. Nearly six years ago it was for the murder of George Floyd. This past June, a crazed gunman shot and killed state representative Melissa Hortman,… Continue reading
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A Pot of Boiling Frogs
The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities. Benjamin E. Mays Most of us are familiar with the story of… Continue reading
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Unraveling the Knots
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. Roger Hornsby A couple weeks ago, I wrote of learning how to ice skate after decades of unrequited love. It was a feel good story about overcoming hesitations… Continue reading
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We’ll Have to Muddle Through Somehow
There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. Erma Bombeck Thursday will be my first Christmas without Mom. I have been facing this realization since her death earlier in the year, but the awareness has become more intense with each passing day. I can’t stop thinking about… Continue reading
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