Summertime

Summertime

Again, it’s been awhile…

This summer has flown by! We’ve again packed more travel than expected into June and July, but all for good reasons, so no complaints. June found us in India where I served a faculty host for the Penn Exec Doc students and Judy and I managed at squeeze several days of sightseeing in before they arrived. We spent time in Jaipur, Kurauli and Agra and, of course, marveled at the Taj mahal and many other historic sights. We also saw considerable property and the realities of a country of 1.4 billion people. But, we admired all the efforts we experienced to bring improved lives to the Indians.?

In July, we traveled with all of our kids and grandkids (11 in all, including us) to Copenhagen and Norway in celebration of our upcoming 50th anniversary. My Facebook friends saw daily pics (from both trips) of our awesome time together!?

So, 50 years of marriage is certainly a milestone worth celebrating, and in a couple of weeks, I’ll turn 72 years old. I guess that’s worth celebrating, too…maybe. But, I seem to be in good health and am enjoying my retirement, life with Judy, our home and our friends. We’d love to see our kids and grandkids more often, but such is life when we live in different cities.?

Our coming year also appears to be full of fun and interesting travels with trips already planned to Florida, Costa Rica, Ireland and Croatia (so far)! As I said, no complaints! But here are a few other things on my mind:

1. I just read David Brook’s eye-opening essay (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/opinion/trump-meritocracy-educated.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare) and encourage all to read it. I came away both better educated and more frustrated by Trump’s continued appeal to so many. Ironically, shortly after I read this, I got my weekly, Sunday culture email from Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/08/boots-riley-virgo-show-recommendation/674933/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20230806&utm_term=The Atlantic Daily) and I realized how distant I felt from the ‘high brow’ cultural content suggested every week. Then, I began to understand how a Trump supporter might feel about ‘elites’. Am I overstating this concern? I’d love to hear what the rest of you think about this issue of elitism, culture wars and more. And, to be clear (as if you didn’t already know), my primary agenda is to figure out how to prevent Trump from ever winning any election!

2. A group of us are heading to Alabama next month to play golf on several Robert Trent Jones courses. The RTJ Trail in Alabama is well known as a collection of interesting and challenging courses. My game is in a period of extremes! I’ve shot a 76 this summer and 100 just this week. Mostly, my scores are in the low to mid-eighties, but I have these moments of swing disasters when I seem not to be able to make contact with the ball..mostly with my mid-irons. All of this will be meaningless to those of you who don’t play or follow golf, but I know I have readers commiserating with me! I hope I can get my game back in shape by the time we head to Alabama! Otherwise, I’m in for an expensive trip! Oh, and this will be my first time in that state (and likely last times)! Only 4 more states for me to visit!

3. I’ve had the extraordinary privilege of chairing more than 50 doctoral dissertations. I plan to author a brief essay on what makes for a successful (and timely) dissertation, but for now, I just want to give a shout out to everyone who has worked and is working so hard on their studies. Most of my students are accomplished professionals with families who are working on their doctoral degrees while maintaining work and family lives (sort of). These folks are well deserved of high praise, indeed!

4. What the heck is happening with college athletics these days? Between transfer portals, NIL contracts and league roulette, program instability seems steady state. I need @KarenWeaver to explain all of this to me! Little of these machinations seem truly advantageous to the student-athletes (but for a handful of those capable of significant sponsorships) and where the heck are the college presidents. Their voices couldn’t be more silent! I keep waiting for the ACC to be picked apart. Is that inevitable??

5. Lincoln Lawyer, season 2 (meh)…too many episodes for too simple a story. Haven’t watched the new season of The Bear yet, but reviews are promising. Saw Oppenheimer recently…kept my attention though 3 hours is still too long for a movie. We enjoyed being back in a movie theater but $11 for popcorn?! We brought our own water and, next time, will bring our own snacks! The previews for Dune 2 looked unappealing…I hope the full movie turns out to be more interesting. And who thought that another, uglier Exorcist movie was necessary??

6. I’m pretty distressed by what’s happening in Israel. It’s hard for me to see any good outcomes ahead given civil strife over Knesset foolishness, West Bank inhumanity, and disregard for protest rallies and democratic principles. I just finished Tishby’s book on Israel which was full of insights that helped me understand the current mess. I welcome any thoughtful comments.

7. Too many cucumbers…too many cherry tomatoes…a nice crop of bell peppers and the first eggplant to be picked today. The life of a gentleman ‘farmer’ with a 50 s.f. ‘farm’. It still brings me pleasure to watch, weed and harvest. Growing ones own food is highly therapeutic, in my opinion.?

8. We’re back to some home renovations. A water ‘incident’ in the Jack & Jill bathroom we have connecting the two upstairs bedrooms has inspired us (begrudgingly for one of us) to gut and renovate the whole bathroom. It’s a three (tiny) room bathroom set with two vanity rooms and a center space with toilet and tub. Our plan is for new cabinetry, new flooring, new tub and tile surrounds. Of course, then we’ll need mirrors and lights. Oh, and we’re tearing out a closet and replacing with a tall cabinet. Hmm…then we’ll need a new fan/light for the ceiling and a switch will have to be relocated to another wall. Oy!?

9. Back to his indictments. Can he really avoid prosecution and accountability? Will he ever be held responsible for so many crimes? Will his followers ever come to realize that they’re being duped? How can the rest of us reach across such a wide divide and engage with people who see us as demons and destroyers of the American way??

10. No Vinfast yet to be found in North Carolina. I’ll be surprised to see one here in the next five years. But, still holding out for the opportunity to cash in our promised discount. We’re likely delusional, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been told this!

Happy August to all of you who actually read these ridiculous musings of mine! I’d love to know more about your thoughts, dreams, fears and wishes