Author Archives: hessd

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About hessd

Here is all you need to know to follow this blog. I am an old man and I love to think about why we say the things we do. I've taught at the elementary, secondary, collegiate, and doctoral levels. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. I have taught political science for a long time and have practiced politics in and around the Oregon Legislature. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. You'll be seeing a lot about my favorite topics here. There will be religious reflections (I'm a Christian) and political reflections (I'm a Democrat) and a good deal of whimsy. I'm a dilettante.

Now bring on the victory laps

Posted on April 26, 2017 by hessd

When I first began to formulate the metaphor of victory laps in 1977 (much more later), my wife, Donnie, and our children—then 16, 14, and 12—were living in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania on a little circle of houses kept for new … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Hollywood opening

Posted on April 25, 2017 by hessd

Saturday, April 22, was my first visit to the Hollywood branch [1] of our library system. [2] It was a spectacularly good experience. Already I feel a reluctance to go back to try to experience it all over again because … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hey wait. There IS another way

Posted on April 24, 2017 by hessd

I love those moments when the familiar options suddenly turn themselves inside out and everything looks instantly different. Daniel J. Levitin gave an amazing example in the New York Times of March 25 (here) and I have been looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Society, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A Bunny Welcome for Jesus

Posted on April 23, 2017 by hessd

This year, Walmart featured a very upbeat TV ad with the caption, “Easter like you mean it.” It’s about kids running around in a well cared for neighborhood, chasing each other and finding easter eggs while inside the house, the … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Biblical Studies, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering Dad at Easter

Posted on April 19, 2017 by hessd

My father has been dead for more than thirty years, but every Easter, I remember him as vividly as if we talked just last week. I am going to show you two really ordinary pictures today. They are pictures of … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Getting Old, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gifted, the story of “The Continent Uncle”

Posted on April 17, 2017 by hessd

Let’s get the invidious comparisons out of the way right here at the beginning. McKenna Grace is much cuter than Matt Damon has ever been. OK, having said that, Good Will Hunting is a much richer movie than Gifted. Both … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thinking about Chinese dominance

Posted on April 14, 2017 by hessd

I grew up at a very favored time in the U. S. We had fought and won a war against “the Axis powers.” We had a nuclear monopoly in the world. We were the last undamaged economy in the world … Continue reading →

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North Carolina. First and Last in Flight

Posted on April 11, 2017 by hessd

I was an early fan of the saying, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” When I was young, my mother thought that I mostly wasted mine and I wouldn’t want to argue that she was wrong. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Uncategorized, Words | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

James the Presbyter at Princeton

Posted on April 7, 2017 by hessd

I have been paying a good deal of attention to the recent goings-on at Princeton Theological Seminary for one reason or another. The issues themselves are small potatoes, it seems to me; in comparison to the reasons people have given … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Biblical Studies, Political Psychology, Politics, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Welcome to the multiplex

Posted on April 6, 2017 by hessd

Have I got a deal for you. You buy your ticket to a “theater” showing…oh…half a dozen movies. This ticket will get you into the multiplex theater anytime you want as many times as you want, and when you are … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Living My Life, Movies, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment