Random Thoughts - August 2026

A friend mentioned how the word “Hornswoggled” intrigued them.  That is one of those words that sounds like it would be fun to see someone who has just experienced that.  Same with “Flabbergasted.”     

I used the phrase “Holy Cowabunga” to describe something amazing that a friend was showing me.  She looked befuddled (an interesting word in and of itself).  I realized that one would have to be a citizen of the previous century to relate to the “Cowabunga” word and she wasn’t.  Howdy Doody anyone?

Heavy weather and lots of rain was coming towards us and my friend said, “I guess we should head for the hills.”  Good advice “Head for the Hills.”  I can imagine where that advice comes from, but we were already in the hills, and that’s where the danger was coming from. What’s the next piece of advice?

A friend spoke of some tears that finally came to them over losing their father decades ago.  As I heard the word “finally” I thought how true it is.  Tears are, indeed, a “fine ally.” One way the body has of cleansing itself. Tears caused by different experiences actually have different chemical contents.  I know some of mine burn, while others don’t. A good and fascinating book of photography on this topic is called The Topography of Tears by Rose-Lynn Fisher.                                                              

Tears seem to be for the body what our out-breaths are as well.  Emptying and clearing “waste” to allow for the life-giving stuff to enter.  “Tears out, Healing in.”

As a side note, when I was a teacher, I would ask my high school students how long it had been since they cried.  For the girls, a day or two or less, on average.  For the boys, years.  Some couldn’t recall the last time they had cried.  Maybe that is part of the reason we men die years earlier on average.                                         

I was once crying so hard I literally could not stop myself and wondered while I was in the middle of it, if anyone had ever cried themselves to death.  The answer that came back to me from somewhere right away was “No, but I bet some people have died because they didn’t.”  I believe that’s true.  I have some evidence but no proof.      

A friend suggested that our mistakes are simply the package that wisdom comes wrapped in.  I liked that thought.  I’m prone to throw away the package too soon, maybe even denying the package showed up, or suggesting it wasn’t mine.

Ceremonies and rituals are ways of allowing us to remember where we came from, memorialize the moment, and feed our future.

Did you know that your odds of/chances of being born were approximately 1 in 400,000,000,000,000. (Trillion).  We’ve each already won the biggest lottery.

It’s a really, really good day when I get to sit next to a gentle campfire. Even better when it is with one or more of my loved ones. All looking into the fire.  An ancient ritual. Spontaneous conversations and reflections about things we seldom speak of, contemplate, or share.

Speaking of campfires, they also seem to eliminate the need for deodorant. Bottom of Form

Ever wonder why people act “that way?”  I say all behaviors stem from one or more of the following six basic needs.  The need to belong; the need for autonomy; the need for safety; the need for self-expression; the need for purpose; and the need for connection.  BASSPC.  Some of each of those I must give myself and I must have a life where other people, places and things can give me the rest.  

A woodcarver friend was telling me that sometimes a piece of their carving accidently chips off.  “What do you do then,”?  Go deeper.  Seems like good advice for other parts of life also. When something doesn’t go as planned, I might be well advised to go deeper before throwing it away. 

My dishwasher and toaster oven have the same deal.  To turn either of them on, I have to push the “ON” button.  Makes sense.  Does the dishwasher or toaster oven start up then?  No.  Why?  Because I have to push “ON” again, as if I’m asking to confirm deleting a file.  Help me with the logic behind that genius requirement. 

Bose seems to have solved the “impossible to read the manual” problem. I recently bought a pair (actually I only bought one, why do we call them a pair?) of headphones that came with nothing at all in terms of “how to use” instructions.  There wasn’t even a note about where one might find out how to use them.

I drove past a “Data Center” being constructed near Lebanon, Indiana.  The size is impressive.  Nearly a million square feet. The equivalent of 15 or so football fields.   The scale reminded me of the nuclear facility near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  Created for the purpose of ‘helping’, with the same potential risks of things going terribly awry for human beings.   

True story from a friend of mine who wanted to talk to his wife about something the other day.

He says: “I want to tell you a story, it might be a little disturbing, and I am afraid it might hurt your feelings, and I really, really don’t want to hurt you.”  All of a sudden, from the drawer where his wife had her phone put away, they hear a voice that says, “CALLING 911 EMERGENCY.”  Luckily, they were able to stop it in time. They spent the rest of the night whispering to each other, afraid that ‘the phone’ might hear them. Wondering what else has been captured, recorded and come back to haunt them.  Apple. I-Phone. Siri.

A friend and I had a similar exchange with her Alexa. It makes the Edward Snowden affair seem like child’s play.

Political Content to Follow

I was in the mountains last weekend.

I was reminded of the presence, power and prominence of echoes.

I thought about the echoes I am hearing from the 1930’s and ‘40‘s

Echo I

A leader who speaks of being God’s agent. “I am the chosen one” (Donald Trump.)  “I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator. I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” (Adolph Hitler)

Echo II.

A government created a secret paramilitary police force of masked officers and unmarked vehicles, armed with weapons of war, using tactics of war, that takes 10’s of 1,000’s of people off the streets, sends them to secret detention camps, sometimes killing them and others without penalty, and warns us all, literally, “Obey or Die” creating a climate of intimidation and fear.  Mirroring tactics and behaviors of the German Gestapo. 

Echo III. 

A leader who suggests that they are uniquely chosen by the divine and the only one capable of solving a nation’s problems, who will “Make _____ Great Again,” Suggesting only certain people are deserving to be among “the People.”  A leader who uses large, emotionally charged rallies designed to generate enthusiasm, solidarity, and a sense of shared identity; who scapegoat populations as foils, chanting slogans designed to threaten perceived enemies - scapegoating and targeting methodology.       

Echo IV.

150 masked white nationalists parading down Washington D.C. streets on the 4^th of July, mimicking the style, symbolism, and political messaging of Adolph Hitler and crew. 

Many folks would prefer to deny what is going on. I understand why.

The same denial system that is employed by some when they are told, “you are an alcoholic and live with one also.”

Denial doesn’t change the data.

There was a huge network in America that supported significant aspects of the Nazi agenda.  Thousands of card carrying members of the Nazi party, and if one counts the antisemitic work of Father Coughlin, millions.  That did not change until December 7, 1941.

Let’s not forget America turned away a shipload of Jewish refugees in 1939, condemning them to death in the concentration camps.  Those American Nazi followers went underground; they didn’t go away.  Some would suggest their offspring are now in control of America.

I’d not make a very good president. 

-If I am standing looking at dead bodies caused by a war I started, I’d be asking myself, “My actions killed these people, what in the world was I thinking and why am I still thinking it?” 

- If had been told that our country’s threat of wildfires raging was as bad as possible (a 5 out of 5) I would be thinking, “Maybe cutting the folks responsible for forest fire management by 80% last year wasn’t such a good idea.”

-Once I’d learned that there was a widespread food borne illness, I’d be wondering whether or not my cutting the number of folks who manage food borne illness response from 11-2 was such a good idea.

I sometimes wonder how many can’t hear the echoes and see the parallels.  Then I remember the Jim Jones phenomena.  Scenes of adults, many walking joyfully with their babies, children and grandchildren to the free lemonade stand.