View From Here

Room in a closet soon is filled. Same with a box in the basement. A corner of the garage gets some company with things no longer in use. Somehow, we think there is future value in the things, so we keep them rather than disposing of them. Disposing of anything requires a decision. A decision we are not ready to make. The easy way out is to stuff it somewhere, out of sight. That works very well. Has for many years. Until the time comes when we either move to a new home, or simply run out of space. We need to downsize our possessions. The new home has one or two fewer rooms, fewer closets. Maybe even no basement! Or even a garage. Oh, Lord. Where do we put all this stuff? So, a decision is forced on us to make. Do we save some of this unused stuff? Or do we give it away to someone. The kids have said many times, no, they don’t need or want it. Same with neighbors and friends. They all have their own closets filled with, you got it, stuff. So, Goodwill, St. Vincent DePaul and Salv...

My family is long lived. Our experience with cancer is minimal and mostly absent. Same with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Elder dementia near the end of life is a reality of our family’s experience, but not as a life changing force signaling an early demise. My mother lived to 104. Dad should have lived to the mid-90’s but died at 88 due to two falls that broke both his back and neck. They could not operate due to the very real threat of stroke. I once had a cardiologist ask me if my heart condition was similar to other family members. I told him yes, nearly all males in my family died of congestive heart failure. So, he said, ‘that’s not a good sign.’ Then I opined, ‘but doc, they all died in their mid-90’s of old age. Heart issues were just the means. He agreed. I mention this issue today because the topic of dementia and Alzheimer’s appears frequently in the news and social media. These news items stir up a lot of fear and action in the public. Medical attention is drawn to their ...

A peaceful Middle East. Especially a peaceful Israel and neighbors, beginning with Gaza. The hostilities are known. They are seen and felt. Property is destroyed and people killed. Neighboring countries join the fray and war enlarges and strangles the hope for peace. This has been the story for decades. The past is remembered complete with strife, losses and bitter memories. The horror is embedded deeply. In the mind. In the senses. Distrust and hate prevail and boost the depth of violence. War is inevitable. Continual war. But what would happen if these same parties defined their hopes for the future? Each party, of course, would dream of their own power over the enemy. But then, such would only perpetuate the current state of affairs, the hate and distrust. The violence. OK, then let the parties rethink what their future needs to be for them to be happy. Each party does this on their own, not in concert with the enemy. Both parties freely work at articulating their dreams of a ...

I am a strategic planner for organizations. Although some have been for profit, my specialty has been strategic planning for nonprofits. Charities. Mutually owned service organizations. The family joke was, ‘dad had trouble remembering today’s date because he was always working in the future.’ And that was true. The planning window is usually 5 years. What do you want to be accomplishing five years from now? What will it take between now and then to be in a position to accomplish those goals? If you can successfully do that, what is the dream for 15 years from now? And so pm. Pushing the envelope of time, thinking and dreaming of better. Better than now. Solving a raging problem was the usual motivation for planning. That and a continual disappointment in what our company, agency or work groups was accomplishing, or more accurately, not accomplishing. Such discomfort is good for thinking of solutions. However, my experience has demonstrated the larger dream to be a better creator...

I understand musical rhythms. I am not very good with them, but I manage my daily routines with a rhythm that works. Always has. Until now. At 80, something interrupts the flow of the rhythm of daily life. Suddenly, a life of order, routine and rhythm, is disjointed from time to time. the keys are left in a place not usual, same with other items of daily living. The result is a lost and found exercise best left to younger people! I used to tease Rocky that he continually lost things because he simply did not adhere to a daily routine with rhythm – do task one this way, task two that way, put things here and here, where they can always be found no matter what. He didn’t listen to me. Instead, he became a master of lost and found. Well, normally, it was me who found the missing and misplaced. That is just one example of daily rhythms of life. Calendar management is another example. I make doctor appointments for early in the day. Period. That way I can get up early as usual, perfor...

My parents lived all over the United States. Mom was born in a small farming town in Minnesota. Dad started life in Chicago. They married in Minnesota, lived in Chicago and then moved to southern California, Altadena, a suburb of Pasadena. My brother Sherm was born in Chicago before the folks moved to California. My sister Carol and I were born in California. Dad was an engineer working in the defense industry. He worked for the Navy as a civil service employee. First in Pasadena, then Inyokern on the Mojave Desert. We lived there 3 years. After returning to Altadena for a few years, we built a house in Glendora. Living there only 6 months, my dad took a job with General Electric in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. From there we moved to Syracuse, New York. Each of us kids moved to our own region upon adulthood; Carol to southern California, Sherm to Syracuse and Rochester, New York, and me to Chicago metro. While growing up, I witnessed my parents keeping up their friendships with count...

The world community has evolved over a very long time. As communication technology has morphed into instant messaging – all forms of technology – we are all closer than ever. It takes seconds to share a thought, feeling or revolutionary idea. With technology has come both intended and mistaken communication. The ‘open mike’ issue has many instances in other forms of communication. A simple TV ad tells the world how Americans live, and how Americans think of people living elsewhere. Are those messages good, bad or otherwise? The message America sends to the global community is fairly consistent. Ours is a democracy on full display. The good, bad and ugly have equal roles in forming what others think of us. Intended or not, we live with those impressions others have of us. The question is, what impression do we hope to share with the world? I doubt it is the self-absorbed persona of Trumpists. I doubt we wish to demonstrate our wish washy approach to international relations. How ...

Bears Stadium : The Chicago Bears football franchise begged the city and state to fund a giant portion of building the Chicago Soldier Field into a modern sports bowl facility. Taxpayers paid a huge price for that project. The Bears signed a long-term lease to use the facility, thus promising to pay a portion of the building’s cost. They reneged on that deal when they bought the Arlington Heights Racetrack. I said at that time no further taxpayer financial support should be granted to the Bears franchise. Some scoffed at my penury, but it is galling for the Bears to ask and get funding for the Soldier Field facility to keep the Bears in Chicago (yes, that was the promise), then go ahead and leave the city for a suburb to get an even better facility. Of course, they planned a major facility and I wondered then and now if they hoped for state funding of the new facility. Surprise, surprise, they now feel more certain that city and state funding will again be available to keep them in C...

I can say old because I’m 80, 81 in June. Biden is 81. Trump turns 78 very soon. Both are old. So am I. We old people have experience, areas of expertise, methods of getting along with others, and working toward common goals. Personal goals have lesser influence on our lives as we age. There is, after all, only relationships that last and continue to nurture well as we age. Not money. Not things. Only people and what we relish with relationships encountered. One area of my expertise is generating new small businesses, especially nonprofits. The latter are supported by volunteer labor, leadership, and funding. They accomplish things because they are dedicated to a common mission. They thrive on that. They respect one another and rely on each other to accomplish their objectives. This is shared life, not manipulated. In American governance, there were large eras of cooperation and respect among the elected and appointed officials. Not today, and not for most of the last 40 years. A...

Rocky’s death has left me alone. Most of the day and all night. Twenty-four hours of potential solitude. I have weathered through this situation well these past few months. But an eternity lies ahead. Friends and family, especially neighbor Pam, have kept me engaged and productive. Volunteer work has kept me embraced with intellectual stimulation and creative work. Reading, napping and documentaries on TV have filled many hours. I am generally rested and a participant in life. Being alone provides time to explore the deeper meanings of life. A thinker most of my life, I have pondered many topics endlessly. That’s one source of my blogging. One of those benefits is a deeper understanding of many things. The logic of life is a great teacher. Paying attention unlocks a lot of details missed on earlier occasions. Being alone at night has not been easy.   The room seems soulless. No one to talk with. No one to share the space. Just me. Along and thinking of many things. That only ...

He is done. He is a convicted felon. Rapist, abuser and other charges with various women over the years. His business trials have proven him guilty of fraud and related misdemeanors. He is a con man. A crook. A no goodnik. Period. My life’s history in America is that known criminals do not get on the ballot for any elected position. Private organizations are another matter, but public ones are ruled by law. He is estopped from participating in elected office. The Supreme Court merely has said that Colorado cannot unilaterally eliminate Trump from their ballots at this time. If he continues to lose court cases, he will most likely be removed from any ballot he managed to be listed on. But that move is not allowed quite yet. The courts still have a say based on the progress of the cases currently underway. If in some wholly unimaginable situation that Trump is found guilty of most of the complaints against him and yet he is allowed to run for office, then we have something to talk ...

As a little boy I learned the history of America. Its founding, immigration from England, immigrants from other nations growing, all the while a push to move west. Eastern seaboard settlements grew into small cities, states and capital seats of regional power. From Boston to New York, down to Florida, the land was settled, population multiplied, farms and plantations were created. Native Americans were shoved aside and relocated to the far reaches of the western deserts. The Midwest took root and began the process of burgeoning commerce. Later it was a manufacturing center and a great hub of railroad lines. Commerce and industry soon powered more population growth, establishment of many universities and public institutions that built layers of civic infrastructure. America grew into a mighty nation capable of defending itself and many other nations in two world wars. Along our path troubles brewed and were tamed. Mistakes were made. Slavery was broadly established in the southeaste...

Tribes, really. Think tribes, groups of people identified with one or a few common characteristics. Maybe it is age, or gender, elders or something else. What about the white-collar tribe, the tradesmen, union versus nonunion, Democrat, Republican, conservative or liberal? So many markers that differentiate each of us from others. And the point of this? If it is to identify a group or market one wishes to work with, fine, but if it is about selecting who is better than another, crap on that! Tribes are people of similarity. Tribes hold fast to their identity. For what purpose is always an open question. These days, however, otherness appears to be the main thing to separate and denigrate. At 80 years of age, I remember discrimination against women. I remember hostile discrimination against blacks, Latinos, Asians and so many more. Immigrants were a target then too, although less so than today. Ideology is a major tribe identifier, and it amazes me how many other tribes are used...