Archive for December, 2009
Top 10 2009 Books
Armed with my Kindle, IPOD, and car CD player, I read or listened to over fifty books this year. Ironically, only one was printed on paper – but that is another blog. Here are my top ten books for 2009. In a few days I will post the worst ten.
The Count – Part 2
It is Sunday and I am in my office stacking boxes full of three-plus decades of souvenirs and nick-nacks on to a push cart. Where did the last 20 working days go? 4 weeks and 160 or more hours in meetings, presentations, back-slapping and a few hugs flew by. Tomorrow I hand-in my pass, computer, [...]
The Missing Drummer
A pinch of mint and a whiff of baked ginger lingered in the room. Hanging in the doorway was mistletoe, ready to lure holiday lovers into its spell. The fat pine, still sticky with sap, seemed straighter at the tree lot. The lower branches vibrated with frantic activity. The Christmas Season always seemed to [...]
Silent Offerings
Snowplows prowled the broad boulevards of Pulaski and Archer, converting pristine puffs of winter into grimy piles of ice and salt along the curbs of South Chicago. Barreling down a dark side street, a monstrous shovel dodged parked cars while furrowing through drifts. Bouncing headlights and worn wipers battled for visibility until a glittering beacon [...]
Fall From Olympus
Many are wondering why the news is focused on Tiger Wood’s personal problems while Afghanistan, the economy, and health care discussions are more important? The reason: our army, our money, and our prescriptions only impacts mere mortals. Tiger Woods is a Titan . . . a god! As in the days of the Ancient Greeks, when [...]
The Maiden of Mont Saint Michel
Tall hedgerows lined the road, forming a green canyon in the French countryside. Except for an occasional chateau, it wasn’t much different from Wisconsin. At the wheel was my dad, The Professor. He taught history and literature back home. Sporting a burly gray beard, like his hero, Ernest Hemingway, Dad’s voice boomed as if he [...]
Throwing Stones
This week four police officers were murdered in a Seattle coffee shop. The alleged killer, Maurice Clemmons, is a career criminal with convictions in burglary, robbery, possession of illegal arms and assault. Why was this villain allowed to walk our streets with such a violent past? In turns out Mike Huckabee, current Republican pundit [...]
