January 27, 2026 It’s winter in Michigan, and this year it’s a bit of a real one. It started snowing at Thanksgiving and it’s been snowy and cold ever since. Yesterday’s high temperature was 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Right now, at 9am, it’s -18F. That’s really cold! Rumors abound of exploding trees, with videos on the internet. But who can believe anything from that medium. Remember the last time we were together, we discussed that. Today, as I sat inside all warm and toa

January 20, 2026 It’s hard to have any kind of social relationship nowadays. With a real human that is. And I too, am partly to blame. At least in this little sphere of influence called my life. This morning, I was sitting at the breakfast table for like the millionth day in a row with 2 people glued to their iPhones. Yes, I had mine with me too. I wouldn’t want to be left out. But even when it’s just my wife and me, I still compete with an iPhone for her attention. A conte

January 7, 2026 It’s January 7th and this is my first time pondering in 2026. I’m still writing some, but I am spending much more time reading right now. I started a project to compose a narrative about my home state. It’s something I have wanted to do for a very long time. Of course, getting started is always the hardest part. But it finally happened over the holidays. The first thing I do for a project like this isn’t the writing part. I try to do some research and gath

December 27, 2025 The holidays are most certainly a marathon, and not a sprint. It’s December 27th and I feel like I am at about mile fifteen. A little past halfway, but nowhere near the home stretch. Not that I have any true frame of reference for the real thing. I ran an actual 5K once and that was marathon enough for me. But this holiday season has felt especially long and drawn out, full of overindulgences that I have been unable to avoid. Or maybe I should say unwil

December 15, 2025 I’m sad today. At first, I couldn’t figure out why. As I began to ponder the cause, I didn’t have to search too long to figure it out. And, like many times, it is an odd thing for me to be melancholy about. Or in this case, maybe not. It seems I lost a good friend today. Not a person, but a friend, nonetheless. Maybe it’s more apt to call it a companion. Regardless, it is a loss. I worked for 30 years at the Kellogg Company. A fairly massive multinatio

December 2025 I’ve talked before about ordering stuff from Amazon and getting it the next day, or even the same day on a few items. I often wonder what kind of strange logistical solution makes this possible. I’m pondering now about my childhood, when you might order something from a catalog in October if you hoped to get it by Christmas. Catalogs were the Amazon of yesteryear. There were Sears, Montgomery Ward, JC Penny, Spiegel amongst a variety of others. Even Radio Sh

December 2025 Now that the stupor from my gluttony of Thanksgiving is wearing away, I am happy to welcome more standard eating habits, as well as reasonable alcohol consumption. I have heard that Socrates once said, “the secret of true happiness lies in learning to enjoy less”. As much as I agree with this philosophy, I have not yet learned how to apply this worthy message. Especially around the holidays. But with Thanksgiving behind us, I guess I can start embracing Chri

December 2025 I don’t feel much like writing today. I’m in a bit of a mood. That always happens after a major holiday, where I have spent endless hours planning and executing something. There is a bit of a lull in energy afterwards, and I feel it. It doesn’t hurt that we got a foot of heavy, wet snow and I was out shoveling our driveway multiple times yesterday. It has left my back feeling sore and worn out. Oh, did I mention I ate and drank too much over the course of t

November 2025 It’s a Monday. I can tell by the way the coffee tastes. I could tell by the way I made my bed. A little sloppy. I didn’t fluff the pillows nor perfectly sculpt and straighten the bed spread. I left it a little rumpled. I’m usually particular about this, almost ridiculously so. But not today. It’s Monday. And frankly, I don’t even feel like pondering anything. Well, maybe pondering Mondays will be good enough. I’m not sure why Monday’s matter anyway. I’m reti

November 2025 It was a beautiful November Sunday, watching my favorite team, the Detroit Lions, lose while I was doing chores around the house. One of the only good things about Sunday football, any network TV for that matter, is that there are so many commercials that it allows me to get up and do other things. Unless you want to sit there and memorize the jingles or the tag lines for today’s pharmaceutical, fast food, or insurance companies and their offerings. Knowing ho

November 13, 2025 I don’t really remember being a 5-year-old. The earliest image I have stuck in my brain is getting up from a nap and my family had a new dog. I was probably only a 4-year-old at that point. I also have images of things that happened when I was 5, in kindergarten. That’s about the extent of it. Of course, that was almost 60 years ago. I guess I can be forgiven for lacking those memories, of which I am certain there were many formative moments. Having h

November 2025 The other day, I went to Louisville, Kentucky with a couple of buddies. We have been talking about taking a trip to the Bourbon Trail for a long time now, and we finally did it. Over the years I have been blessed to be able to visit wineries all over the world. In the United States, I have visited the great wineries of Napa and Sonoma in California, as well as those from the amazing Willamette Valley in Oregon. Outside of the US, I have had the pleasure of vis

November 2025 When I keep things simple, life is very good indeed. I try hard not to complicate stuff these days. But that’s no easy task. Everything in life seems to be designed with the intent to make things easier, but I wonder if in fact it truly does. Especially technology. Is it simplifying your life? Maybe. But is it truly just a stress inducer? The answer depends on who you ask. But if it’s someone older than 60, it is probably the same answer. It all too of

October 2025 I grew up in an era where milk was still delivered to the house in glass bottles that sat outside on the porch until you brought them in. And in a world where, as a 7-year-old, I walked around my neighborhood with a little red wagon and sold the produce that we grew, collecting money and never getting cheated. Tomatoes, green peppers and squash were a quarter each back then. It was a different world in so many ways. Now we have AI, Amazon, Door Dash and al

October 2025 My wife and I just got back from a long weekend in Las Vegas. It’s sort of an annual thing for us. We enjoy Vegas for a variety of reasons. There’s gambling of course, which used to be the primary purpose for our visits. But it’s not so much about that anymore, as we have a casino very near our home that allows us to scratch that itch. So, for us, Vegas has just become a bit of an escape. We love the choice of restaurants, which are amazing, as well as just wa

September 2025 I’ve played a fair amount of golf this summer. Especially over the last several weeks. September has been a perfect month for it. Pleasantly warm and dry. I’m retired, so I’m almost “required” to play golf. It’s like an unwritten rule of retirement. I hear, “I bet you’re golfing all the time”, literally, all the time. But to be honest, I used to play a lot more when I was working. It was a guilty little pleasure back then. An escape. A means to get 4-

September 2025 Today, I am pondering why I don’t ponder as much anymore. Yes, something has transpired in my life that has slowed down my creative process. I seem to have a severe case of writer’s block. I’ve been at a loss for inspiration and I’m trying to figure out why. This is a fairly new and highly unusual circumstance. In the past I would find myself writing almost constantly. Every topic seemed to interest me. I would see or hear something, and a switch would just f

August 30, 2025 I have been pondering about my mother lately. It’s normal for me to think about her, but recently, she’s been on my mind almost every day. Probably because it’s August, so she would have been 98 years old yesterday, on the 29th. And it’s 2025, so she has been gone almost 8 years now. Regardless, memories of her are still very strong with me. I’d love to have one last chat with her. Ask her questions about things only she could answer. I am so often hungry fo

May 2025 Spring has sprung in Michigan. It’s probably my favorite time of year. A time full of new beginnings. Recently, I saw my first oriole and hummingbird. Having returned from their long winter vacation somewhere in the south. The bluebirds have nested and already have their first set of eggs. The trees and shrubs are quickly beginning to bud, and the grass is green and needs mowing. I’ve even begun the spring-cleaning process outside my house. Washing away all mem

May 2025 The other day I was with a group of friends I’ve been lucky enough to have accumulated over the last several decades. Good people and I enjoy them. I think they enjoy me too. We were at an outdoor gathering, drinking, eating and chatting. We try to gather once a month or so for some relatively mindless camaraderie and relaxation. Oddly, on this particular day, I had a bit of an epiphany. One that has made me ponder something I judge to be core to my existence.