Entries by dickbernard

School 2023-24

Yesterday, the day after Labor Day, was the first day of school here.  At my coffee place, the Blackboard had been cleaned and a question for the day appeared: The previous day, I’d stopped by the Middle School where my daughter is Principal, and gave her my more or less annual calendar taken at the […]

A New Flag for Minnesota?

PRE-NOTE: I have made additions to the posts for August 11 (Lahaina), August 22 (Ukraine) and August 24 (Stairs).  Access through archive at right on this page. * A current important issue in Minnesota is the design of the Minnesota state emblem.  More on that below. One week ago I was at Huot MN, a […]

The Stairs…1940

August 31 additions follow the photo.  Two earlier posts: Lahaina(8/11/23), and Ukraine (8/22/23), are available here.  Both solicit comments, and are thus incomplete. This is a work in progress – check back in a week.  The General topic of “The Stairs” is here, handwritten, brief: Dick B 1940.  As noted, this in the 1940th post […]

Ukraine Visitors

Added September 5, 2023: from Minneapolis Sunday Tribune September 3, 2023: Ukraine kids 2023 STrib 9 3 23 Added August 31, 2023: A few of us who visited with the Ukraine students added comments after the gathering.  Mine is the last one of this group. from Martha: The Hopkins t-shirt [ln one of the visitors?] […]

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

Added August 31, 2023: It has been three weeks since the catastrophic Lahaina fire.  It essentially has disappeared from news, replaced by the latest headline this morning “Idalia slams into Florida, Georgia”, and on the TV talk about how Congress may resist disaster relief – too expensive, too many.  And the narrative about climate change…or […]

August 6&9, 1945: Reflecting

Aug. 9, 1945 was Nagasaki – 78 years ago.  Today’s post reflects briefly on “78”. First, Speaking personally: war is insanity, period.  It is never a solution.   The winner of one war, can expect another war to follow.  The saying “What goes around, comes around” comes to mind.  Having said that, there have always […]

A Letter from Japan, August 10, 1945

Sunday, August 6, is the 78th anniversary of Hiroshima and the Atom bomb.  Three days later, Nagasaki was target for the second bomb. The annual commemoration events are August 5, 6 and 8 in Minneapolis and St. Paul:  details here, (click on first tab under news and events). A year ago, I saw the Golden […]

Oppenheimer

This post includes several points of view.  I’d encourage you to at least take the time to scroll through, including the links. This week, somebody cleaned the for-the-public blackboard at Caribou in Woodbury, my coffee place, and wrote a question: “What are you watching first?”  In one column, “Barbie“, in the other “Oppenheimer“. Thus far […]

“Vacation”

POSTNOTE July 24, noon:  This morning, some unknown kids said “hi grandpa”, passably respectably, as I passed their gaggle during my walk at the health center.  They appeared to be about 8th grade, part of a group that had been doing what I call ‘wind sprints’.  I was about two miles into the walk, and […]

Sound of Freedom

This is the first post since I took some time off from this blog on July 2.  It has been an active vacation, and I will catch up in coming days. But this first post is to recommend a powerful film we saw on spur of the moment last evening. It’s Sound of Freedom, 2023, […]