“Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”
—Rachel Carson
It’s ironic that the Supreme Court Justices, who keep reinforcing that Americans can carry any gun anywhere they want at anytime, have asked now for more money for protection. This seems confusing. If gun laws mean the good guys will protect the bad guys, then where are the good guys with guns? Well, we know that one.
Nothing warms my heart like talking to MYO kids. This morning I had a call with Frieda. We are planning to make a movie together. She is amazing. Beautiful. Smart. Creative. Thoughtful.
I will never know what it’s like to be a parent, but I know what’s like to be close to kids for a very long time. To be a part of their experience. To see their joys and successes and their heartbreaks and setbacks. It’s pretty fucking great. Why bring more kids onto an overcrowded planet when you can simply participate meaningfully in other ways.
Egos are our biggest enemies. Most of my work is spent trying to navigate egos. I and not an exception, although I do try hard to be reflective about my actions. I win some battles and lose some.
I’ve been back on the bike a bit and it feels good. When I left Idaho for Ohio, I never really got my biking vibe back on. Now trying to change that. Will be tough to keep up while I am in Namibia. I walk Marti between 1.5 – 2 hours every days. So that consumes the majority of my free time before and after work. But evenings are long now so I’ve been getting some rides after our late afternoon walk. I am planning an 80-mile ride in October along the length of the Greenbrier Trail. Two 40 miles days. In the old days I would have put in the 80 before breakfast, but that was 30 years ago now.
July is a whirlwind. Was in Boston the last week of June. Brittany’s 3-day weekend birthday party celebration 10,11, & 12, back to Boston on the 13th until evening of 15th and then off to Namibia for 17 days leaving July 17. Will be a good trip but as always, lots of prep.
On the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, America’s increasingly senile president turned the White House lawn into a tacky, bloody, gladiatorial arena while capitulating to Iran. A man-child. Momma’s boy.
In Michigan, a 911 call came in saying a white van with two black guys was driving erratically. The cops then engaged the first white van they saw, which happened to be driven by a lone white guy, which escaped their notice. They rammed their car into the van and knocked it on its side. Someone said ‘he’s got a gun’ and so a handful of deputies shot 27 times and then stood there and watched as the guy bled out.
The cops will of course all get off because they are allowed to shoot anyone they want whenever they want in America. It’s telling that their fabricated story about a gun held for an entire week before it crumbled and the police admitted the man was totally unarmed. This is policing in America. Shoot first and lawyer up.
“The fact that the strongest, the mightiest military power in the world, in cooperation with the mightiest intelligence agency in the world — Israel’s — were not able to achieve any of their strategic objectives against a third-rate regional power is quite stunning,” said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.
Brittany and I spent a weekend in Cleveland and attended an 80’s birthday party. I went as Bjorn Borg but everyont thought I was Vitas Guerrelitis.
Iran war, led by Commander in Chief DJT, has gone as poorly as expected. It was always a sham but is resulting in Iran giving Trump a total and complete beat down. They are getting far more than they have given up. Of course this is the outcome that was expected, but it’s still wild to witness in real time.
My mom hates phone answering machines. And modern commerce and manufacturing standards and customer service. She doesn’t like the new priest who has a French accent as she cannot understand him. These are our conversations — her complaining about these things. Which are legit complaints. But when I complain about something she says ‘well you have to stay positive’ What? What the What? You just savaged some poor young person trying to make a living working in a call center. She agrees with me when I tell her ICE is out of control and health care is too expensive and the hard to navigate and Trump is a moron — but then she will say something like ‘well this is still the best country in the world’ Really mom? You know this how? Nationalism is every bit as fucked up as religion.
Great couple of weeks at Black Dog Ridge. My friend Tina visited a couple of days. I have only seen her once in about 15 years. We worked together years ago but then went different corporate directions. I did my own thing and she followed our SVP to his next corporate spot. Ed and Rita visited a few days. Otherwise Brit and I enjoyed the time. The treehouse is completely done and is amazing. I got a lot of mowing done and some work on the road and a few other chores. Not as much reading and writing as I would have liked but work is work.
TOOM is in testing and close to general release, which is exciting and terrifying.
Humbly Submitted
The Captain – Flanker, Portneuf Valley Rugby Football Club (ret.), writer, comic genius
The Martini Tales 