Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple.

When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same.

When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good!

Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize.

Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this?

Epstein Files: With legislation passed to share the files with the public, we will soon learn much more than we knew on this matter. Yes, there will be other names made public of individuals who were caught up in this mess. We will look upon them with question whether to continue to trust them with public business. They will feel pressure and shame, of course. The primary question is will we allow a sitting president to continue in office if his involvement is as spurious as most believe it is. I agree with this specific belief, but don’t know what I believe with others so involved. I guess I need to understand the what and why of their roles in the issue.

I also believe the more important issue is helping the victims. They are the most important people in this horror show. What can we do for them? And at whose expense?

Boredom: in retirement, boredom is often present. I think the reason for this is the abundance of time compared with how busy we kept ourselves while working. There simply were not enough hours in each day to do what we hoped to accomplish. Frantic time management I remember. Frantic. Always commuting, always in a meeting or preparing for one and then following up with the details of what we discussed and decided. And when I wasn’t busy, I spent time wondering what we ought to do and accomplish for our organization. A lot of time was spent delving into defining what ought to be. Inventing the future was a critical element for our institution. Always has been. That drove our time usage as well. I think this comes down to purpose and adoption of same. That never goes out of style in my book.

November 28, 2025