December 2023 I think a great deal about my new grandson, Emeric. Well, he’s relatively new, as he just turned three. We have a great time together. Playing tackle, taking walks, playing with his trucks on the floor or building forts and carwashes in my family room. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s pretty lucky. His grandfather is fairly young and healthy. Able to do things a three-year-old likes to do. Which is mainly acting like a three-year-old! Rough housing as wel

November 2023 Emeric Conrad. That’s my grandson’s name. I think it’s a beautiful name. It is certainly a complicated one, reflecting the complex times into which he was born and will grow up. One thing is certain; he will rue the day when he needs to sign a mortgage or take a loan out on a car. If there are such things once he reaches the age to want one. That’ll be a heck of a signature! Emeric is three years old now. And he is such a little man. He comes and visits h

October 2023 I’ve been lucky. In my 60+ years I have spent very little time in a hospital. For myself that is. Attending to others has been a different story. And recently it has been a bit overwhelming. But I guess that is to be expected at my age. Sometimes it is just to pay a quick visit. Other times it is to care for someone living their final days, or moments. Family. I’ve had the honor of doing this a handful of times. I say honor because that’s exactly what it

October 2023 I am not a real television guy. I watch my share, but that adds up to only several hours on a normal day. If that. In the summer when there is an abundance of other things to do, far less. However, if I am sick, sad, bored, or just looking for some mindless release, I head to the couch, grab the remote, and find a good western. My kids have teased me about this for decades. Yet, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling from so many of them. They just make me feel grou

September 2023 My nearly 3-year-old grandson loves to make believe he is cooking. He has his own little play kitchen with all the essential implements at his house. At grandpa’s, he also can make believe he is a chef. I get him some pots, a wooden spoon and a spatula and he concocts all sorts of imaginary feasts. It brings him great delight to serve grandpa pretend pizza or pancakes. When I am actually cooking, he loves to get on a little step ladder and “help”. This has made

August 2023 My wife and I recently bought a house on a hill overlooking a lake. It faces essentially west. I am also very near the east side of Lake Michigan. It’s the end of summer so I have spent a fair amount of time enjoying sunsets. Likely because they come earlier now. I’m old and don’t stay up very late! Lake Michigan is a sunset factory in the summer and fall. Really all year long. But autumn elongates the experience. Recently, enjoying the last spark of the da

August 2023 Today, I am pondering fears. Worries. I am 60 years old and retired, financially secure and in good health. Why should I worry about anything? But I do. I don’t think I know anyone that doesn’t. And of course, “worry” is a very general term indeed. I’m not talking about panic type worries but just general concerns that seem to occupy an inordinate amount of your thoughts. This has driven me to think lately about how “what” we worry about changes throughout

July 2023 Today, I ponder life as a homeowner. I have recently read that we homeowners are a dying breed. Nowadays, young people are just not choosing to buy a home. More likely, in today’s world, they can’t afford to. And maybe that’s a good thing. There are a lot of complications added to one’s life when you have your own home, all of which makes renting seem much more appealing. Especially to a homeowner! The other day I took a cold shower. Not intentionally mind you

June 2023 I took part in an annual golf outing with my son and some friends last week. Our whole group was staying at our seasonal home prior to it. As each person arrived and walked up the driveway, they were carrying their various golf implements, as well as luggage, pillows and such. The final guy, a friend of my son, came walking up with just a box fan. I reminded him that we had air conditioning, but he made it clear the fan was not for that. He needed it for the noi

June 2023 Today I ponder the power of nature. It’s a relentless influence on our lives. And how it seems impossible to tame. I was sitting outside this evening. Enjoying a perfect spring twilight. The sun was in its final moments, slowly descending below the horizon to mark the completion of another day. The sky was clear, and the stars were just beginning to pop. The birds were chirping their last songs of the evening. Frogs were beginning their beckoning cries for mates.

May 2023 Today, I am pondering the nature and appeal of dive bars. Why am I contemplating this? I don’t really know! Maybe because I am overly fond of them. And I surely spend a fair amount of time in them. A fact that I am not ashamed to admit, but a bit perplexed as to the reason. There is a neighborhood bar about a mile from my summer home. Right across from the marina where I keep our boat. For historical context, it is literally only a few blocks from my childhood

May 2023 The other day, someone asked me how I liked retirement. Ok, to tell the truth, everyone asks me that. It’s a daily inquiry. I may be newly retired, but I have become an expert at defending the practice. People think I must be miserable. “Don’t you miss working?”, they say. “How do you keep busy?” “You must be so bored”. Granted, I have only been truly retired for several months, and I just turned 60. So, I am relatively young to be retired. But I am happy, and I

April 2023 Today I was driving to a lab to get a blood test. Nothing serious, just a requirement for my annual physical. The route I take to this lab just happens to drive by two elementary schools. My timing today as I passed both institutions coincided with the children being out for recess. It was a beautiful spring day, and the kids were obviously enjoying themselves. Which gave me pause to ponder this timeless, daily school event. At first, I was amused about how lit

March 2023 Today is March 23 rd . I’ll bet you didn’t realize it but it’s World Meteorological Day. Likely not widely known outside of the world’s small circles of climatologists and meteorologists. And other interested observers like me. It seems like I’ve always been a bit fanatical about the weather. My mom was scared to death of storms. Both thunderstorms and snowstorms. I got to watch her fret and panic with the approach of every storm system. I felt sorry for her. I

February 2023 Today I ponder retirement. A moderately common theme for me to be contemplating at this stage of my life. I turned 60 this year and feel the time has come. It’s my second attempt. I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. This time, I’m focused on actually retiring for good. This time I think it might be for real. Like most people, I have spent years imagining my retirement. Hedonistic thoughts of world travel, improving my golf game, fishing, gardening, and

January 2023 Today I ponder the power of pets. Now I’m a total dog lover. I have had a dog as a part of my family for my whole life. With rarely a gap. I just love how they can look at your face and listen to your voice and perceive what you need. How they ask very little except to be loved, to make you happy and be a part of your pack. We are a Golden Retriever family. Leo, our second Golden, came to us in 2011. My kids were 19 and 15. He quickly tied a bow around all of o

December 2022 It’s winter, and my wife and I like to use the forced indoor time that comes with that dreadful season to declutter our home. Honestly, this is mainly an undertaking that is driven, and executed by, my wife. Throughout our lives together we have picked up a lot of kitsch. And having children we have collected a lot of stuff of theirs as well. But I must admit, I am the problem, at least in terms of wanting to keep stuff. I’m not quite a hoarder, but I do tend

November 2022 It’s nearing Thanksgiving, so I am planning my menu and making my lists. Of course, I cannot do this without thinking about my mom too. Not that she ever made a list, none I can recall, but she certainly was all about food. Thanksgiving or otherwise. Which is why I think of her around the holidays. Today I am pondering food and childhood, including, for some reason, the unique snacks we were given and exposed to as kids. It was in the late 1960’s and 1970

October 2022 Today it is a bright, sunny 85-degree day. So what, right? But it’s October 21st. That’s very warm for this time of year in Michigan. Nothing too extraordinary but still unusual. My next-door neighbor and I were outside in our yards, as you should be on such a day. In a small talk sort of way, he shouts out “Quite the Indian Summer, eh?” I hadn’t heard that in a long time. Figuring it’s probably not politically correct in today’s climate. Notice what I did

August 2022 “There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” – Steven Wright That about sums it up. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Today, I ponder fishing. Something I love doing but never seem to do enough of it. Something I have enjoyed since I could barely hold a rod in my hand. One of the only activities I did with my dad, which provides just one of the many fond memories I have about fishing. And yes, I have spent many hou