Rev. Lowell Erdahl died Dec. 14 at age 90. He was very well known in Minnesota. Details were in the Dec. 19 Minneapolis Star Tribune, which can be read here: Lowell Erdahl obituary Dec 19 2021. My particular connection to Rev. Erdahl was in the area of peace and justice. As his obituary states, “throughout […]
This morning the Friday morning regulars at the next table had completed their Bible study and were visiting. One lamented that the news was all “politics”. That’s true, of course. We – every one of us – is “politics”. And we can’t, and we mustn’t, avoid it. But it is Christmas time…. * Three […]
Today, hats off to Uncle Frank Bernard, who, at age 26, was beginning his 7th year as a sailor on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. And to his shipmates as well who also went down with the ship. (I had the privilege to meet Frank in person, just five months […]
In a few months I’ll note the 50th anniversary of becoming a full-time teacher union staff person (March 1972). This post is a personal reminiscence. Another with a similar emphasis will follow on or about December 7. The above photo was taken Nov. 30, 2021. I’m getting on in years, and back in February I […]
Recently we’ve been flooded with important cases relating to the rule of law. I’d name a few, but for certain I’d miss somebodies important one. Take your pick. They’re all important, and they all demonstrate how complex “law” is in a country of 330,000,000 people and a long history of some sense of democracy. In […]
POSTNOTE Nov. 28, 2021: Last night I finished viewing part 3 of “Get Back”. I highly recommend taking the time to watch the entire eight hours, in three parts, on Disney Plus. All of the filming was in about one month in early 1969, almost entirely the Fab Four, all in their mid-20s: Paul McCartney […]
Yes, it’s an unusual time. Have a great day, anyway. Happy Thanksgiving. Here is Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation of the first national day of Thanksgiving. This includes a further history of the day as observed in the United States. Fr. Jim Kent of the Franciscan Retreat Center, Prior Lake MN, reflected on “The Holiday Season” in […]
Nov. 11 I received an e-mail from someone I’ve known for many years, which included this statement: “I really don’t understand how there can be a moderate democrat (almost an oxymoron)”. Every blog I post, here, I self-identify myself as a “moderate pragmatic Democrat” (see at right), and have done so since the first posting […]
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. Have a good Thanksgiving. Consider making your own list of the positives that you can think of in your life, this past and most momentous year. I have a favorite postcard for this day: This is part of the Busch farm “collection” – old postcards saved by my grandparents primarily between […]
If the title of this post is familiar to you, then this post might be of interest to you. As I type, 9:30 a.m., Monday Nov. 15, the Judge and the Counsel are having a civil discussion about process prior to closing arguments to the Jury in this most significant trial in Kenosha WI, before […]