View From Here

Remembering past eras, so many faces pop to mind. I recall where we first met but not their names. Seventh grade music class or orchestra, math or English classes; I remember these people because they forged something in my mind to remember them by. Workshop class – remember those? – and the guys who took the work seriously and the many who did not. I did and appreciated the skills I then shared with my dad in our basement shop at home. I even remember many of my teachers, not by name, but by grade and subject taught. I remember those teachers from high school very well; have over these past seven decades. Funny how that is. My sister does as well. We shared several teachers back then being only 17 months apart in age. She often forged the way and made it easier for me when I encountered the same teachers. Fun to do that, too. I remember the kids in our church groups in the evening and on weekends. I remember the people in the choirs I sang in. Again, no names. Then there were the ...

Well, news organizations are my focus this morning. Over the years I was an avid newspaper reader. Sometimes three a day. Plus, a news magazine, special interest publications on top of that, and a whole lot of interaction with news sources and writers. I knew a lot about what was covered in news outlets. I accumulated a pretty good working knowledge about many topics, understood their underpinnings, and all of that. That background actually supported what I read in news publications. There was a resonance with the articles. They connected with what I knew and understood on the topics. Until they didn’t. That’s when the bias of news outlets became more and more obvious. Fox News was blatant. The Chicago Tribune became somewhat blatant.   But some news retailers remained solid and believable. With media competition over the top today, the bias is on full display. There are other tells as well. Take news headlines posted online. I receive several all day long. The New York Tim...

The last 10 months have been difficult. Amazing, too. So much to process. Illness. Threat of death. Then the final diagnosis, treatment, hospice and death. Of one’s spouse. The caring phase was long and complex. It was a downward spiral. When death finally delivered peace to the patient, it also provided peace for the family. Me, the spouse, had experienced much. The much was to carry on for quite some time. The dimension of this phase is labeled grieving. It is that, but it takes on so many shapes and meanings. Three months after death, grief continues on, and I suspect will last the rest of my life. Others agree with this. That prognosis seems overly broad, but it contains many lessons that still need to be learned. Other phases of life do not teach these lessons. They are necessary and of value. To wish them away would cheat us of special moments to treasure going forward. One of those lessons is actually seeing what moments in the past actually were critical building blocks for...

It has been said many times, war is hell.  There; we just said it again. That doesn’t make it any more meaningful, just continuing on and on in our lives. It menaces. It haunts. It conjures terror. Fear. Of life lost, ours; of life lost, others. And destruction. Buildings, roads, cars, factories train tracks and landscapes. Entire hills gone. Plains once flat are now not so much. And for what reason war? Why power. Of course, power. Mankind dwells on power. It feeds on it and sustains dark hopes for better things by taking something from others. Territory. Natural resources. Influence at its simplest. Just power. Ability to cause another person or large numbers of them to act in ways we want of them. Nations are built this way. So are empires. For good or ill, power is wielded for someone’s gain. Those who wage power to build peace may attract our attention and gratitude. But they wield power as well. Just for a better purpose in our mind than someone else. Which is better? W...

Israel vs Hamas : Every attempt at long term peace in Israel with Gaza has failed. A spoiler always appeared to dash hopes of peace. Often the dasher was Netanyahu. And his supporters allowed that to happen over and over again. First, he would promise no new settlements of Israelis in Gaza. Later he would renege on that promise. Build and then not build. On and off again and again. The message was clear. Deal with me now but I will change the conditions and undo our agreements. This is the pattern of Israeli negotiations for many years. That and huge support financially and militarily from the USA. That pretty much cemented Israel’s position. They could do no wrong. Until now. So, Hamas makes a sneak attack on Israel? And Israel attacks in full war mode? Were they just waiting for this to do their mighty military punishment? Yes, I think so. Netanyahu’s political support has always been engineered on the tough guy image with military action the promised club. When Israel gets s...

Yes, at last, I am planning a trip. This one will be to New England. My daughter will come with and we will use her fairly new SUV that has all the safety gadgets on it and is 4-wheel drive in case we encounter snow and ice. Neighbor Pam is joining us for the trip as well. We shall see what this threesome gets into. The trip is to Pittsfield, Massachusetts in the heart of the Berkshire Hills. I think they call them Mountains these days, but we Californians don’t easily call short mounds mountains after living with the Sierra Nevada Range and a whole lot more, even with the San Gabriel Mountain Range in our backyard. No, hills will suffice for the Berkshires, although they are quite pretty and attractive. Hilly and very few flat areas. That’s one reason Massachusetts is not known for its farming prowess! At this point we have chosen to travel starting on November 9 th . Hope to return home on the 14 th , possibly the 15 th if time is needed. At this time of year, the fall foliage s...

All the time things happen. In our personal lives and career endeavors. Then there are the events of governments, social trends and international matters of importance. How do you handle these? Well, my way is mulling. You know what I mean! Just sitting and pondering random events and topics. What do they mean? What impact on other topics do they have? Is there a swelling up of growing importance? Is a large change getting ready to burst on the scene? Or, the opposite? Maybe we are thinking too much on this topic, making too much of it. Topics are like that. Large. Small. Consequential and not so much. How do we know which is which? We don’t unless we think about them over time. Getting away from the noise of the news helps sort things out. That’s the job of mulling. Make no conclusions, just expand the topic whichever way. Let it brew. Let it become what it may. Think about it broadly. Think about it narrowly. Does it matter? Time will lead to eventual conclusions. Certainly, ...

Contemplating life, that is the stage I am in presently, again. Of course, recent experiences have led to this thinking, it often does after the death of a loved one. Being alone is the starkest motivator. Living life normally without someone who made it normal in the first place is cause to rethink most everything. I am not alone in this behavior. A constant for a couple of months has been reminiscing about a town I lived in from the age of 11 to 17. Those were formative years. The age of becoming more of the you to live the rest of your life as. Heavy. Significant. Those years were discovering friendship as a polar influence in life. Finding art and truly internalizing it. The days at Tanglewood. A visit to Jacob Pillow Dance. Summer stock theater indoors and outdoors in tents. New York and California actors of substance often dotted the casts. Concerts of intimate size and historically correct instrumentation. Medieval art, classical ages, too, and a little bit of modern. The Be...