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Digging for treasure

My brother Les, his son Dustin, and I recently embarked on a treasure hunt. We didn’t have a map like the Count of Monte Cristo, so there was a certain amount of random digging involved. Not by hand, of course. Les and I have reached the age where “work smarter, not harder” isn’t just a good idea; our weary bones and creaky joints have made it a necessity. We weren’t searching for silver or gold: the metal we were seeking was cast iron. And we’re talking about a level of digging that required the deployment of Les and Dustin’s excavator. In lieu of a map, Les and I ...

Signs of spring as Easter arrives

Spring comes in spits and sputters. A beautiful sun-basted day is followed by howling northwest wind, followed by snow/rain, followed by south wind, leading to a beautiful sun-basted day. Winter is slow to let go its grip. March can be unsure of its season. But it is April. Spring will win out. So much is going on out our doors. A green tint slowly colors the Earth. There are chirps and calls of birds we haven’t heard for months. They are returning from winter homes. Welcome back! I lifted a stone and hundreds of ants scurried about, unsure why their dark workspace was suddenly ...

First AI glance didn’t measure up to the art of writing

In the past week I had my first chance to experience AI (artificial intelligence) through my email server. Messages from my sister and friends now come with a suggested AI reply. All it takes is one click and you can reply to the message. There’s nothing wrong with the messages the computer suggests. They’re very well-rounded reactions. Still I don’t use them. I feel that I as a professional writer can do better than a machine. I can make a message more detailed and more descriptive. I can introduce new subjects that a computer can’t anticipate. Letter writing used to be ...

Trump never actually had a plan

When President Trump spoke at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative on Friday, he offered a pristine example of what he calls "the weave." What detractors take for incontinent verbal rambling is, in his own telling, genius-level embroidery of a rhetorical mosaic. While spinning his tapestry ...

Focus More on Joy

The Gallup World Poll recently released its latest rankings of the happiest countries, based on survey data collected from 2022 to 2024, and Finland landed in the No. 1 spot for the ninth year in a row. One definitely has to wonder what it is about the Finns that causes many of them to enjoy ...

Free speech isn’t just for laughs

Following reports that Bill Maher will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to believe it. "This is fake news," she told CNN. "Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award." Ah, guess again. On Thursday, the center ...