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  Blog draft April 24 26 Bits & Pieces Diners : They are small. Many are cute. All share common aromas of cooking food. The tinkle of glassware and clatter of silverware is also a common attribute. A buxom greeter with broad smile and greetings is also a shred characteristic. Now the menu can be quite different from the many diners. All day breakfasts are common and very welcome to this eater. But then a soup and sandwich is a good lunch or early supper. It’s handy, cheap and fast. Especially good when you are trying to manage time well. But dinners? At diners? That’s another dimension to consider entirely. And I do mean dimension. Is this a real dinner, with three or more items to sup? Or is this a hot sandwich coated with gravy generously slopped over mashed potatoes and slices of some meat or other?   It’s good, but often not truly tasty. It reminds you of food you like, but it doesn’t rise to that level of taste. Not really. Hot yes. Filling, yes. But good? Not...

  Blog draft April 22 26 Caregiving With Rocky’s illness and death, now nearly 3 years ago, we were introduced to caregivers. They staffed our home hospice admirably for several months. At first the schedule was sparse, but as his needs advanced, their schedules expanded. If we had a problem, we called them for answers, and they often came to the apartment. They were godsends. After Rocky died, I assumed I would be without caregiving. I was wrong. I was found in need of 4 hours per week for my age, mobility problems, and income level. I still have a caregiver for four hours weekly. She has been wonderful and helps with my laundry, vacuuming, dusting and cleaning the hard surfaced floors. I’m neat and tidy so my place looks good most of the time, but the tasks that demand standing, stooping and walking are difficult for me to do. She does them for me. I love it. Now, my income has improved with the return of my university retirement income once designated by divorce to my ex...

  Blog draft April 20 26 Bits & Pieces Weather : Well, well, well. My personal forecast for the year was pretty accurate. Less snow, a few cold snaps, but basically an easy winter season for the Chicago region. That has been true. It has not been true for many other regions. Boy howdy! Massive snow dumps, heavy winds and a lot of rain in other parts of the country. How much of this is due to global warming will be argued for years, but to me the connection is obvious. But don’t mind me. I’m not a weather forecaster, just an old bloke who has noted connections and trendlines for 80 years. I feel sorry for those who have been mightily disrupted this year by weather. I am very happy to live in Chicagoland this year. The weather has been just dandy. Easily managed. Store Closures : On-line shopping is fast and convenient. But it does have a cost. Store fronts need foot traffic to stay in business. Shopping electronically reduces that traffic. Stores close, not because the bus...

  Blog draft April 17 26 Rolling Along Took a day trip Monday. Near the Quad Cities on the Mississippi. Visited a sick friend who is in assisted living for now. She may return home but that is not a certainty. The visit alone was worth the trip and dear. Something deep registered within me. I suspect it is life’s march toward a timeline not in our control. As I’ve said before, the 80’s is a decade of loss. So many friends and family leave us then, my 8 th decade, not necessarily theirs. The trip itself was another dimension of the day’s activity. Rolling along the interstate at 73 miles an hour, landscapes unfold continuously. Often much the same, rolling farmland and distant trees, grey clouds with undulating stages of distant storms moving across the horizon. Being passed by other cars and trucks as well, even at 73 mph! When did our world become so fast? And yet just the rolling along succored thought and pondering. So much to whittle into meaning. A little here, and a ...

  Blog draft April 15 26 Time Spent I while away the time a lot now that I am retired. I watch a lot of YouTube videos. Although many are entertaining and story driven (read that as drama) many more are documentaries. I learn things. Lots of things. Some are deeply interesting, others are peripheral, nearly meaningless in the grand scheme of things. This form of whiling is new to us. Streaming TV and YouTube is new to me, probably to you as well. I am fascinated by how much information is new to me. I thought I read broadly and deeply. Evidently I have missed much! I write my blog three times a week. Ever since Rocky’s death, I have not returned to daily production of the blog. Too much thinking is involved. Too much desiderata amassed to make easy sense of it all. But the blog is a central effort on my part. It keeps me focused on life in general as well in particular. I also read books and journals. I keep up with the news and weave it into a fabric I can understand. I ...

  Blog draft April 13 26 Bits & Pieces Taxes : April belongs to the IRS. Federal taxes are due on April 15 th , and so too state taxes. Same day. How convenient. We are reminded annually of the cost of being a citizen in the free-est nation on earth. It isn’t free, but then rarely is anything. We get a lot for our taxes: schools, universities, national defense, police and fire protection services, streets, water, sewers and a host of other common infrastructures that we take for granted. Don’t forget subsidies that often make arts and culture an enriched surround to our lives. Yes, taxes cover much of what we have come to expect. Still, we have the opportunity and duty to do the rest of what life calls us to do. I wonder if we know what those are and if enough of us respond? This is a two-way street. We give and get but then we give and get in other ways, too. War : The threat alone may be its greatest value. But then hostilities may become real and the threat is alive fo...

  Blog draft April 10 26 Sense Or Not? The day goes on as usual. I wake at 5 an, rustle around for the phone, peek a look at the time, phone messages left and calls missed, then sort through news items. Meanwhile, I’m doing the bathroom routine then off to the kitchen to make coffee. Thereafter, the computer calls for detailed interactions. This is when I answer emails, write blogs, and ponder what is important and what is not. But does any of it make sense? On to making breakfast after cleaning the coffee pot and putting the dirty cup and spoon in the dishwasher. Selecting needed dishes for the meal, arranging food on the counter and then making the meal. A few minutes later the eggs are done to perfection, toast is buttered and orange juice awaits. The meal is consumed in about two minutes, maybe three, all the while YouTube videos play in the next room. The kitchen is tidied up and then to the living room, the recliner and another 40 minutes or so of YouTube. What is the...

  Blog draft April 8 26 Volunteers Horsepower: If you want to get something accomplished, ask volunteers to help you do it. It is as simple as that. These are the people who are involved in many issues and wish to be involved in more issues. You will find this population only if you look. They are already there. They are worker bees who truly are the horsepower of most nonprofit organizations. Idea creativity: Volunteers are involved because they have a special interest in the topic you are working on. Because of that interest and involvement, they understand the problems and potential solutions better than most. As a direct result, creation of ideas and methods flow quickly. They can be evaluated quickly as well, and improved in their execution. Practical ideas drive this creativity. It is priceless and a primary characteristic of nonprofit volunteers. Core of nonprofits: Very few for profit corporations have volunteers. Hospitals have them, but medical organizations are g...