Category Archives: Living My Life

Recharge your battery!

Posted on December 13, 2017 by hessd

There is a new ad by a product called 5 Hour Energy that I found really appealing—until I had a chance to think about it. [1] Then I found it appalling. Today I’d like to write about the appalling part. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Living My Life, Paying Attention, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Assembling a Convidium

Posted on December 9, 2017 by hessd

Nope. Not a word (yet) so far as I know. I hope to have the better known “colloquium” after all the members of the convidium see the movie clips. So, for instance, there are two reflections on forgiveness that I … Continue reading →

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Cherished Memories-1

Posted on November 30, 2017 by hessd

This is what you think it is, but it might not be where you thought it might be. It is the International Airport of Vienna, the Flughafen Wien-Schwechat. When I saw it, I laughed out loud. I was the only … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

It’s a PG sort of coffee shop

Posted on November 21, 2017 by hessd

In Sam Raimi’s film, For the Love of the Game, he sets up a scene in an airport bar. An insensitive boor begins regaling the woman on the barstool next to him with his extensive knowledge of the Yankees. [1] … Continue reading →

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Halloween

Posted on October 20, 2017 by hessd

I just don’t get Halloween. Not as a big deal celebration. I get a few things. I get the language underpinning of it. I know, for instance, that the -een of Halloween is properly “e’en.” In the Scottish version of … Continue reading →

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Ebb Tide

Posted on October 12, 2017 by hessd

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide … Continue reading →

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The Star Spangled Banner as a Commons

Posted on September 25, 2017 by hessd

ill you all rise, please, and join us in the singing our our national anthem?” It doesn’t sound all that hard, does it? But, as everyone knows by now, it can be made extremely difficult and we have done that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Peter Stearns is “my guy” for gender roles

Posted on September 23, 2017 by hessd

Stearns recently retired as Provost at George Mason University, in Virginia. He is still teaching and still writing. That’s good news for me. In this very partial introduction to Stearns’ thinking, I’d like to tell you why I take it … Continue reading →

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In loco parentis

Posted on September 17, 2017 by hessd

Who is really well placed to act in loco parentis? That was a big deal question when I was in college. Mothers and fathers sent their children off to far away institutions, some of them hoping that the college would … Continue reading →

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Two Systems of Forgiveness

Posted on September 12, 2017 by hessd

Do you know when you have effectively forgiven someone who has offended you or against whom you hold a grievance? Not necessarily. I am going to describe two systems of “grievance-processing” here. The most important thing I want to say … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Living My Life, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment