Sep 10
A notable quirk of my children’s mother (me) is her adamant refusal to accept that any of her children were teenagers. “We never had any teenagers in our home,” she (me) would announce periodically to whoever might be listening. “We had children and we have maturing adults, but no teenagers.” Read more
You hear it all the time, but explaining what about freedom is costly stumps many of us. Some think it mostly a matter of money: it costs money (tax money) for defense and police protection, NSA oversight, and all the personnel government requires to fix my roads and pay my doctor and assure fair treatment at all levels of authority.
Some think it mostly a matter of the struggle to achieve what has been unattainable: a fair shake in the job market, the ability to (actually) have a say in who governs, getting a good education and so on. Here the cost is money, for sure, but we perceive the personal cost of sacrifice, mistreatment, or denied choices as greater than just money.
The bedrock cost, though, lies beyond the ability of philanthropists and legislators to make an easier path of life. The bottom line is the enormous cost to an individual to embrace the self-limiting personal choices that reflect what I ought to do, rather than the external ability, affordability, access, or availability to do what I want to do. Read more
Known since the middle ages under a variety of names, flavored with strong spices like anise and caraway, and prized for their keeping quality, jumbles are a virtually indestructible and somewhat nourishing cookie, if not exactly a delicate morsel. Think hardtack biscuits. Principle thoughts, not cookies, are my current jumbles. Read more
Of course, it’s not summer yet: not for another three weeks or so, but all around the nation schools are winding down and for almost everyone that means SUMMER. . .
. . .the time when the Bobbsey Twins, the Box Car Children, and countless other serial children were able to solve riveting mysteries unencumbered by school. . .when Jim and Scout and Dill tried to make Boo come out. . .when rural families needed children in the race to adequately prepare to survive yet another winter. . .when city families escaped festering close quarters to bask in country estates and sea air. . .when potted learning is thrust from lecture hall and classroom greenhouse to thrive in outdoor reality. Read more
Library shelves are full of them. If they are not the book’s entire content, they often occupy a sizeable chapter within the book. Even cooking shows feature them. . .the thirty minute meal. Everything on the table within thirty minutes. Some protein, some carbohydrate, some produce. Read more
Priority Stewardship 