I'm Still Here

My blog has fallen victim to a very active summer and also to me not knowing how best to write about some things that are concerning to me—and so I put it off. When I say active, I'm mostly referring to time spent on my bike and to a lesser degree, time spent golfing as well as some walks thrown into the mix. I'll be reducing the amount of time spent riding in favor of more time on the links. My goal from now until the season ends is to try and golf at least 3 rounds each week. That may be a little ambitious but it's only Wednesday and I've already met my weekly goal. I don't want to neglect my riding too much because it's too easy to lose my cycling fitness and to someone in their mid-60s, form goes quickly and is more difficult to get back. 

Tammy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary at the end of July. Tammy made reservations at Jax Cafe in Northeast Minneapolis where we've had super experiences in the past but just a so-so dinner this time. It's been a number of years since we were last there and it will likely be at least that long again before we return. We were slightly disappointed. But it was a night out together and that's always nice so all was not lost.

In the 30 years I've lived in our home I've never seen raccoons around our yard until this year—and that's only because of our Eufy security cameras. Checking out what our security cameras captured the previous night is one of the highlights of my day! (Just kidding.)

I've been binge-watching Blown Away on Netflix lately. If you haven't seen it, it's a competition between glassblowers where they're given a task and a limited amount of time to complete the assignment. I'm so impressed with the imagination of the artists and the way they're able to quickly decide on an idea that will embody, often in a personal way, their vision for how they want to approach each task and the process of watching them go about bringing their artwork to life. Plus, it's also bringing back so many feelings and memories for me from the years that Tammy and I spent at Foci learning the art. We hadn't intended to stop our involvement with it but when Tammy's mother came to live with us in 2015 (she was suffering from Alzheimer's) we had to put our glassblowing pipes aside with hopes of getting back into it at a later date. That has yet to happen although we've still got all of our pipes and tools should we decide to give it another go. Check out the show on Netflix. It's very fun to watch. 

Our hanging flower baskets on our deck this year are huge! This video of them is from a few weeks ago and they're still doing really well, just a little bigger. We bought them at Eisele's Greenhouse where I'd seen similar hanging baskets in previous years on their lot along County Rd 46 a few miles from us. I've always admired how well they thrive so I stopped in to talk with the guy who cares for them. He sold me a  mixture of petunia fertilizer, along with our 4 hanging baskets, and told me it's simply a matter of fertilizing them weekly and watering as necessary. So far so good! The hummingbirds are enjoying them as well.

Rachel turns 31 years young today! She just started a new position at the University of Minnesota at Rochester where she's now the Assistant Director of Admissions. She's excited to be back (she previously worked there as an admissions representative while working on her MBA) and they're very happy to have her back. Win-win!

I took Rachel golfing to Hyland Greens Golf Course in Bloomington last week—a mile from where I grew up as a boy. We were both shocked and thrilled when she drained a 7-iron 100 yards/meters from the cup on the 4th hole. It was only her 2nd time golfing and I commented that it's that sort of shot that keeps you coming back for more. She agreed. I hope there are many more golf outings in our future together. Our morning on the links was one of the highlights of my summer.

Politics ahead.

When I referenced at the beginning of this post about some things that are concerning to me but that I'm not sure how to write about them, I was referring to politics. As I've said here before, I don't want to look back on these times and see that I was silent as we watch one of our two main political parties morph into something unrecognizable as it drifts steadily toward authoritarianism and fascism. I don't think I'm overstating it by referring to it with those descriptors. Many lifelong Republicans are beginning to echo the same concern. Pay attention to Governor DeSantis in Florida.

Look at how conservatives have embraced Hungary's leader Viktor Orbán and his authoritarian rule where he has eliminated a free press and stifled any challengers to his position and authority. Tucker Carlson took his evening FOX cable show to Hungary last summer in a nod to Orbán's authoritarianism. Orbán was even given a prime speaking slot at the recent CPAC (Conservative Political Action Coalition) in Texas earlier this month where he received a warm welcome just days after giving a speech where he declared that Hungary must not become a mixed-race country. One of his top aides resigned saying it sounded like a speech that would be given by a Nazi. And yet conservatives welcomed him. Warmly.

A recent NBC News poll found that threats to democracy is the leading issue concerning voters as we head toward the midterm elections in November. I hope you're among those who are also concerned because unless we push back hard against this it won't end well for us.

As I write this, it's been nearly 3 weeks since the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate where they recovered several boxes of classified documents, some carrying the highest possible classification: TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information)—information so sensitive that it is to remain under the most strict security and anyone viewing it has to pass through security to check for not only credentials but also for electronic devices so as to ensure the information isn't photographed. Absolutely none of that secure oversight happened at Trump's home. The irony in all of this is that Trump showed little interest in intelligence briefings while in office but for whatever reason, he felt the need to squirrel away boxes of documents that greatly concerned intelligence agencies. 

Why? 

Only a fool wouldn't think he was preparing to monetize them or has already done so.

And yet they continue to support him. 

I turn 65 years young tomorrow. I hope to spend some time riding and some time on the links before dinner out at a restaurant with Tammy in the evening—but not at Jax!

That's all I've got