Category Archives: Uncategorized

An appreciative sort of partnership

Posted on June 5, 2021 by hessd

I know from watching movies that the classic pickup line is, “Do you come here often?” When couples meet in the dining room of the senior center where Bette and I live, the equivalent question is, “So….how did you guys … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

But is it really therapy?

Posted on June 2, 2021 by hessd

I am just about to read a news article (New York Times, June 1) about a “therapist” app named “Woebot.” I have read enough in the area that I think I have a sense of what has to be said. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“I wasn’t built to follow your rules”

Posted on March 25, 2021 by hessd

Looking at it from the outside, I might call that a design flaw.  I’m sure she wouldn’t call it that. It may be that the woman who tossed this line at the hospital security guard, didn’t actually mean it.  As … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to grieve

Posted on March 18, 2021 by hessd

Let’s start with how bad a title that is.  If you chose to read this because the title rubbed you the wrong way,  welcome.  Let’s talk. In my reading about the process of grieving, I see a lot of emphasis … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trumpism and Greater Appalachia

Posted on January 18, 2021 by hessd

Here is the first paragraph of Colin Woodard’s examination of the “American nation” he calls Greater Appalachia. [1]  “Nation” is a cultural reference in Woodard’s usage and Greater Appalachia is the culture where I was born and raised.  (See the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Did anybody remember to bring the boxes?

Posted on January 7, 2021 by hessd

Like a lot of people, I spent most of yesterday watching television.  I learned as lot from the commentary.  The video, not so much.  All day, they showed the same protesters coming up the same stairs their progress being retarded … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Eggs and Omelettes

Posted on January 7, 2021 by hessd

As I write this, it is getting dark in Washington D. C. There are still pro-Trump rioters inside the Capitol and darkness does odd things to riots.  On all the channels I have watched, the reporters and commentators are asking, … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Balance of Power?

Posted on January 6, 2021 by hessd

The government of the United States was built to be a balancing act.  Just what elements of this mechanism are supposed to be “in balance” have changed from one time to another.  Early ideas were that the largest states were … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Give me a break”

Posted on January 5, 2021 by hessd

Trump’s recent phone call to Georgia is iconic.  It puts on display nearly all the things that are most characteristic of Trump [1] and most dangerous to democracy. Here is the account of the call as it appears in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Naughty and Nice

Posted on December 23, 2020 by hessd

This is the kind of post I think I had in mind when I started all this in 2010.  Yesterday, the words to “Santa Claus in Comin’ to Town” came to my mind and I noticed something I had never … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Uncategorized, Words | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment