As I’m getting old, I recognize my friends fall into two camps: filtered and unfiltered. For example, my friend Bradley is a filtered guy. Before retirement, he was a dean in the University of Wisconsin System and respected by all his colleagues. Everyone counted on Bradley. …
One of my heroes had a stroke. I’ve known him nearly a lifetime. Kevin lovingly told me many years ago to quit talking so much about myself and my fabricated success stories. He said to stay quiet and listen to the wisdom and beauty of others. At the time, I did not have the …
One of my favorite paintings is The Rescuer by MacKenzie Thorpe. It hangs in our dining room and portrays a shepherd carrying a white sheep on his back through steep grass before a storm hits. It makes me think of how all of us in days gone by have been the rescued sheep in …
My old boss Gordon told me that when someone is doing important work, don’t bother them with the details. Wyatt Blue was a great dog, a blend of German Shepherd and Rugged Nevada. Two decades ago when we hiked the Pine Nut Mountain Range, Wyatt Blue, our new puppy, came upon …
Aging with a special spot of land is a big deal. My favorite spot is a stretch of tiny creek that runs through my backyard. It’s fed by the snow that falls high above in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Wet winters makes it move fast and gurgle boastfully until late July. …
No one says to me, “Don, your toenails are really getting ugly.” Not to my face anyway. However, with aging from my 50s to my 60s and then on to my 70s, my toenails appear to be taking a beating. I’ll spare you the details, but they are not pretty. I’ve never been the …
My brother, Eddie, died on Christmas Day of 2010. My fondest memories of him go way back to when I was in fifth grade and Eddie was in eighth. We played football on Curtiss Street with our neighborhood buddies. Eddie could rifle a football faster and more accurately than …
I can’t find my house slippers. I didn’t leave them at the grocery store or Dairy Queen because, by definition, they don’t leave the house. I’ve checked under the bed and behind the back door with no success. How silly of me to look on my closet floor for the 10th time …
I’m so sorry, but I’m sending you a poem. Very few people really read and enjoy poems, but this one I wrote many years ago helped me age out of my stupidity. Showdown Rigorous Honesty dressed in white, sun at his back, rode into town. My gang took cover in the wasted …
I have a woman friend who is bright and witty, but there is this little sliver of her brain that retains and polishes up grudges like other people collect salt and pepper shakers. Her name is Shelly and I really like her. She has a Ph.D. in psychology and an MBA from …