A LEADERSHIP NOW TALKSHOP: Your Leadership And Our Civil War: American Rhymes of 2024-2025 And The River of November 1860 To June 1861 I'm guiding clients into the world of six months in fall 1860 to spring 1861. History doesn't repeat—it rhymes. With that truth in mind, we'll looking for how to measure the rhymes of the early American Civil War to our own post-election period with POTUS 47. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux-November 14, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
November 14, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Americanism Redux November 14, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Both a boulder and a ball roll. The similarity ends there. It's 250 years ago—let the bouncing begin. * * * * * * * He was sky-high, up on a cloud in his excitement. It's his time of the year and it's a special year all by itself! Reverend Ebenezer Parkman dates his … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 7, Your Today, 250 Years Ago In 1774
November 7, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Americanism Redux November 7, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 We've got to make sure about these elections. And check the clock on your phone about spring-forward and fall-back. * * * * * * * Today, 250 years ago, the people of Philadelphia in the colony of Pennsylvania learn of the strict process of election that will occur in the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Your Today, October 31, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
October 31, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 31, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Standing in the place we could not have imagined, thinking the thought we vowed would never be known. Halloween, 250 years ago, today. * * * * * * * (where this Word was spoken) Eyes wide open, then blinking hard. Lump in the throat, then swallowing hard. Sitting … [Read more...]
Addendum to Episode 8 – On The 250 River With Dr Dan
October 27, 2024 by
I thought about it and I concluded we need to look at this for 9 minutes more. That's because you need to know that the American Founding formally begins in 1774, before 1776 and before 1787. The point must be understood for the meaning it holds today and across the 2020s. Take a look: https://youtu.be/agI-Jz6RIWg?si=VGbGFZoZgiVvC-j9 … [Read more...]
Podcast: On The 250 River With Dr Dan – Episode 8 – October 24, 1774
October 26, 2024 by
Here is this week's Podcast. Take a few minutes for the story of three shocking "birth" documents. It's the moment Abraham Lincoln called the birth of the American union. https://youtu.be/8X-7qYxdDb0?si=VUGslN7XKTmmojJJ … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 24, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
October 24, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 24, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Such a big day. I know it is. Big, big day. Amazing. But I wonder: is this how I'll always think of this day? * * * * * * * (Carpenters' Hall) Today, 250 years ago, a month-and-a-half has gone by and the colonial delegates at the special Congress are wrapping up their … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 17, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
October 17, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 17, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Things are clearer in October. Crispness where haze once was. Brightness where darkness once was. A sharp aroma where heavy air once was. Open yourself to the sights and sounds and smells of October. You might as well because they'll find you anyway. * * * * * * … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 10, Your Today, In 1774
October 11, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 10, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Time is a river, and you're at a spot in the current, 250 years ago. * * * * * * * Today, the massive oak and elm trees show the year with shades of yellow and red appearing amongst the aging leaves. Today, talons wrapped around branches of the hardwoods, eagles wait and … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 3, Your Today, In 1774
October 3, 2024 by
Americanism Redux October 3, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Look around. You're seeing it sinking and seeping into everything. All around you. Think you can avoid it? That really doesn't seem likely. You'll need to figure out what it means in your life, for your life. * * * * * * * (Gurnet Lighthouse) Would you believe it? … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 26, Your Today, In 1774
September 26, 2024 by
Americanism Redux September 26, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 An American original. Living a life in a place, and a place that shapes the living of a life. But the life needs birthing and the place needs making. * * * * * * * (beginning) Elizabeth lays back in her bed. The sheets are soaked in sweat and linen cloth shows … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 19, Your Today, In 1774
September 19, 2024 by
Americanism Redux September 19, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (the green hints of first) A campfire brings a rare feeling in the early fall. Before frost and cold and icy breath, a fire of early fall is for warmth, not heat; for whispers and spoken words, not shouts and wild tirades; for support, not survival. Next to a fire of … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 12, Your Today, In 1774
September 12, 2024 by
Americanism Redux September 12, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 The land and the ground are so basic you're seldom aware of them. You assume them. They're always there. Always. But the unthinkable can happen. And when it does, the land sways like the surface of the ocean. The ground shakes and cracks and roars. Earth quakes. I feel an … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 5, Your Today, In 1774
September 5, 2024 by
Americanism Redux September 5, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (this is the Pepperell flag, perhaps for American Moment holiday) America, listen to me. Start a new celebration, commemoration, memorialization. Add it to the 4th of July. Do it across the first five days of every September. Beer and barbecue, wine and quiche, makes no … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 29, Your Today, 250 Years Ago
August 29, 2024 by
Americanism Redux August 29, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Are you feeling well? Fever or chills? Aches or soreness? Tell me a number that describes your pain. The baby, the child, the adult, each in a different condition and each in the care of someone who cares, or knows, or both. They have a number. Today, 250 years ago, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 22, Your Today, In 1774
August 22, 2024 by
Americanism Redux August 22, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (the blues say "end") What if this really is the end? ...of... It. That. Them. Us. Your call as to the object of the question. It does happen, you know, an end, the end. And then there is a next, which can only start if... ...this really is ending. Today, 250 years … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–August 15, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, in 1774
August 15, 2024 by
Americanism Redux August 15, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 You let it in, brought it in, welcomed it in. Doesn't matter, you chose and that's fine. Completely okay. The "it" is the current public political and governmental turmoil around you. You have a stance and a viewpoint and something to say about it. Part of your life, by … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 8, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
August 8, 2024 by
Americanism Redux August 8, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 I'm in this place I can't quite figure out. There's a way out, somehow. There's a way ahead, somewhere? How do I not go down? https://youtu.be/j6-9p9O-nYw?si=BJirlwajWXKajeNU * * * * * * * The last thing he remembers is the horse and the air and the blackening. And … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 1, Your Today, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
August 1, 2024 by
Americanism Redux August 1, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 No longer. I'm done. I've been driven to the breaking point, I'm breaking at the breaking point, I'm going past into whatever is next after breaking at the breaking point. Maybe you've been here, with addiction, the wrong crowd, a bad relationship, a hated job, a dead-end town. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Your Today, July 25, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
July 25, 2024 by
Americanism Redux July 25, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Two little words, "if" and "only". Put them together and you make a razor's edge, capable of slicing and cutting to the level of bone. If only. It's today, 250 years ago, and the shining blade of the two words gleams in the light. Welcome to Americanism Redux. * * * … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: July 18, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
July 18, 2024 by
Americanism Redux July 18, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 The only passage to the future is through the present. No other door opens up on tomorrow. Only today. * * * * * * * (the land of Nomini Hall) In the final scorching of a summer day, the sun sat for a moment on the distant trees. A lush green thickened the woods and meadows … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: July 11, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
July 11, 2024 by
Americanism Redux July 11, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Endcoming. Is this a new word? Could be. The definition: an end that you see coming. The now won't last. The way you're used to? It will be over. No doubt about it. A profound change will set in. It's only a question of when and where and maybe not much of a question at … [Read more...]
I Dug These Up
July 8, 2024 by
I knew I'd written these but I just wasn't sure exactly when. Well, first, it was September of 2020, almost four years ago. I coined a phrase-name that I'm sure wasn't completely popular. I never meant it in partisan political terms. I meant it as descriptive. Warren Biden. A hybrid of Warren Harding and Joseph Biden. It's appropriate today in July 2024 because of the connections I made in my … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Your Today, July 4, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
July 4, 2024 by
Americanism Redux July 4, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (a juncture from AI) In the future, there is a juncture. You believe this, and so do I. At the juncture, everything, or nearly everything, of today that is important, contested, and unresolved will meet. A, B, C, D, and a dozen others will come together. Plans, actions, events, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 27, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
June 27, 2024 by
Americanism Redux June 27, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Boil it all down and one thing is left, stark and clear. You are the linchpin. Just think about it. You're right now, in this single and very real moment, the present. You're the thing between the past of how you've gotten here and the future of where you're likely going. You're … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 20, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
June 20, 2024 by
Americanism Redux June 20, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Your hands grip the wheel. Feels good. Going a bit faster than you're used to or than you like. That's okay. You're dealing with it. The faster pace, it turns out, is manageable. You can still enjoy the countryside out the window. Then, something slams the accelerator and the whole … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 13, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
June 13, 2024 by
Americanism Redux June 13, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (within) The deepest, inner-most workings of yourself are not where you spend every day. You can't, it's too exhausting. Those moments arise, however, when the depths, the core, the utter basics, are the only place for you to be to make sense of your existence. Down there you'll … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 6, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
June 6, 2024 by
Americanism Redux June 6, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Life has more than one level. (a levels view) Big and large, middle and medium, small and tiny. A hundred others, too. From level to level, things can change. An outlook, an action, a decision, each varies as the levels vary. It pays to know the level you're seeing. * * … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 30, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
May 30, 2024 by
Americanism Redux May 30, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Now is new. (yes, it is) You know and feel it. Not everything is new, of course, but a whole lot of important stuff seems on the verge of new. Turn your head and take a look. Focus your mind and apply your thoughts. Listen to the sounds around you. What was will be so no longer. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 23, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
May 23, 2024 by
Americanism Redux May 23, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Displaced. (an example of calmer displacement) Displacement is what happens when a new thing shoves aside existing things. They either slide down your list of priorities, become something different through interaction with the new thing that does the displacing, or simply disappear … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 16, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
May 16, 2024 by
Americanism Redux May 16, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (it has landed) No more drift, or glide, or float, or motion in air. No more. Instead, on solid ground, the law has landed. * * * * * * * (where it landed) Slightly less than a week ago, Boston's residents read or heard read words of the Boston Port Act passed by … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 9, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
May 9, 2024 by
Americanism Redux May 9, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (September 10, 2001) It's the last day before...it happens. One more day and then...boom. Ahead of the moment, you're totally unaware. You don't know, you can't know. Only hindsight makes it clear—the arrival of the thing that changed everything. Life's not the same afterward. You … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 2, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
May 2, 2024 by
Americanism Redux May 2, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Outside, in the night, an owl hoots. Eyes watch the meadow below the tree. Talons grip the branch until the last second of flight, descent, and attack. Inside, in the night, they sleep. A thin pillow folded in half. A blanket pulled up against the chilly spring blackness. In … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 25, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
April 25, 2024 by
Americanism Redux April 25, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Stop and listen for the sound. https://youtu.be/zf5T2nb99RY?si=CiKAMaBerv6qgnZY You'll hear it, perhaps recognizing without realizing. It's the sound that tells you where you are, the thing that you often hear at this time of day or this place of night. Or maybe you won't hear … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 18-19, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
April 18, 2024 by
Americanism Redux April 18-19, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 The difference a time makes. It was only a few hours ago. A few days ago. A few somethings ago. Time can take such a short form and yet appear to be so long ago. Is it the same for time yet to be? Is the future as far away as the past? No, because there's nothing between us … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 11, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
April 11, 2024 by
Americanism Redux April 11, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Your money. It's in your account. How much? It's on your credit card? How much? It's listed on sheets and screens. How much? You access your money through passwords, numbered codes, facial recognition. You're reminded of it every time you see a person holding up a sign and asking … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 4, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
April 4, 2024 by
Americanism Redux April 4, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (communication of the casual and natural) Today, you meet your family, your friends, and the people who come and go as the minutes and hours tick by. You talk with them, write to them. Behind the words are ideas in your head. Some are so old and familiar to you that they … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 28, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
March 28, 2024 by
Americanism Redux March 28, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (together, voluntarily) Do you belong? To a club, a group, some sort of collection of people outside your family? Together, you and they meet each other, see each other, spend a period of time with each other. You, and they, are joined for a while around whatever it is that brings … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 21, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
March 21, 2024 by
Americanism Redux March 21, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (the Virginia bluebells) Take a walk in these first spring days and you'll see the early flowers, the Virginia bluebells. Delicate yet hardy, they are the flowers of aspiration. An aspiration differs from hope. It looks ahead with sharper eyes, seeing both considered plan and … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 14, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
March 14, 2024 by
Americanism Redux March 14, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 A public problem has grown into a public crisis. Some people are part of pushing and driving the growth. Others resist and seek its undoing. Still others rush to stand apart and build a wall against whatever is coming. And life rolls ahead, over stones and rocks in the river. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 7, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
March 7, 2024 by
Americanism Redux March 7, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Husband and wife. Parent and child. Friend and neighbor. Do human relationships get any more basic than these? You don't want them to shake or tremble. You don't want them to crack apart and break down. But across the table, across the room, across the fence, something seems to be … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–February 29, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years go, In 1774
February 29, 2024 by
Americanism Redux February 29, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 This day is your gift. Your gift of an extra day, Leap Day. We all know that time is a truly valuable thing in life. A Leap Day is like a few golden coins in your hand. So, what's your plan for the spending? An extension of the day before? A thing new and different? Peek into … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 22, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
February 22, 2024 by
Americanism Redux February 22, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 "My life is (or is not) my own." Which is it for you? Is the answer one of choice or of compulsion, your freedom or something else's force? A blend of betweens? Think about your day and week up to now. As you begin to separate time into pieces, do you see any hint of things you're … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 15, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
February 15, 2024 by
Americanism Redux February 15, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 There is a day when you know the driver of your life. It's the most basic, single element of your living. On this day you're crystal-clear about your life-drivers. * * * * * * * Today, 250 years ago, a British ship enters the port of a colonial city. The ship carries important … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 8, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
February 8, 2024 by
Americanism Redux February 8, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 You need to see this thing. Good God, it's a massive tree. Down it came, crash and thud. By now, today, 250 years ago, the leaves are dead, the bark and branches gone, and the wood becomes plank and log. Other trees are laying next to it. (Harrod's tool) Over there, that's … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 1, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
February 1, 2024 by
Americanism Redux February 1, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Sight for seeing up-close. Sight for seeing far-away. Sight for seeing what's not there at all. Sometime your ability to see depends on your orientation, on where you are. * * * * * * * (the home where Mercy missed her friends) Today, 250 years ago Mercy Otis Warren is … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 25, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
January 25, 2024 by
Americanism Redux January 25, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Slumped against the front door, he's reaching for the handle. With a few fingers on one hand, he grabs, holds, and turns. The door opens. The mob yells and shouts and taunts as he drags himself inside. He's half-crawling, half-sliding on the wooden floor. The pain is now his entire life, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 18, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
January 18, 2024 by
Americanism Redux January 18, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 The tea rings continue rolling beyond Boston Bay from a month ago. "It was done by Fire and Water; and so general was the spirit, that all ranks and degrees of people, high and low, rich and poor, Whig and Tory, agreed in the affair." So described an observer in Newburyport, … [Read more...]
The Fourth Quarter of 1773–The Journey To The American Founding–In Five Minutes
January 12, 2024 by
If you've not read my Q4 1773 entries of Americanism Redux, here's a five-minute video summary. Take a look. https://youtu.be/Ac4VCmDzJV4 … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 11, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
January 11, 2024 by
Americanism Redux January 11, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 Over there is your diary. Over there is a sheet of parchment paper. Over there is a notebook. But you're not writing in any of them today, 250 years ago, unless you're in the south, where it's warmer. For most British colonists, it's deep winter. Ice. Snow. Frigid air. And there … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: January 4, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1774
January 4, 2024 by
Americanism Redux January 4, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1774 (near the site of Mrs. Roger's school) Today, 250 years ago, a woman enters the turbulent marketplace of education in Philadelphia. As the most advanced and innovative larger community in the British colonies, Philadelphia is the scene of fierce competition for students and … [Read more...]
The Big 4: American Celebrations of the Declaration’s Birthday–Lessons for 2026
December 30, 2023 by
On December 12, 2023, I delivered the keynote speech at a special event kicking off the "Journey To The American Founding" initiative in Indiana. It's a partnership initiative between The Remnant Trust and Sagamore Institute to help guide the recognition and honoring of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. I invite you to watch and listen to my speech. Feel free to … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 28, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
December 28, 2023 by
Americanism Redux December 28, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 (Saint Nicholas, by Carlo Crivelli, 1472) "To Sint Nikolaas." People holding hands. Arms wrapping around necks and shoulders and waists. Smiles on faces. Laughter and words of happiness and good cheer. People having a pleasant and meaningful time. Inside is warmth. A … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 21, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
December 21, 2023 by
Americanism Redux December 21, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Well, it's over. And now... ...the waiting begins. 250 years ago today, an east-sailing ship carries five-day-old news across the Atlantic Ocean to London, England. The present's big event is a thing of the past that others will discover in the future. * * * * * * … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 14, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
December 14, 2023 by
Americanism Redux December 14, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The front. That's where you're looking from—the front of the room, the front of the group, the front of the line, the front of the moment. The front is a perspective all its own. * * * * * * * Today, 250 years ago, the smell of tea is still in the nostrils of Reverend Jonas … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: December 7, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
December 7, 2023 by
Americanism Redux December 7, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 It feels like overnight. The change. Fast, everywhere. You look back a few weeks or months and it seems like a different world then. Not that world now. All at once, or so your heart and mind and soul tell you. * * * * * * * Today, 250 years ago, Francis Salvador steps off the … [Read more...]
Eight Words On The Seventh Day
December 7, 2023 by
Eight Words On The Seventh Day (2023) On the 7th day of December 1941, Japanese military forces unleashed an attack on American military forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Territory of the United States. Also on the 7th day of December 1941, after news of the bombing had arrived on mainland America, the US Army Chief of Staff, General George Marshall, walked toward his office at the … [Read more...]
Leadership, Tea, and 1773
December 6, 2023 by
Leadership, Tea, and 1773 Those eyeglasses on your face are 250 years old. Can you see well through them? Take a look over there, where a group of people are dumping tea in Boston harbor in December 1773. (for your leadership vision) A swath of my Redux entries for 2023 have, one way or another, featured the oncoming story of the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773. I write my Redux … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 30, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
November 30, 2023 by
Americanism Redux November 30, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 It's here. No more wondering. The thing is here, right in our laps. And now things happen with blinding speed. * * * * * * * (Dartmouth) The British ship with the East India Company tea is now in Boston harbor. And things have started to happen. Today, 250 years ago, … [Read more...]
A Letter One Month Ahead
November 28, 2023 by
A Letter One Month Ahead Right off the top, I'll give you a heads-up. This is a post leaning toward the spiritual, the metaphysical, the cosmic. Kind of. This is not a post to exclude. My intent is to pose a question that takes you into your own thoughts. For some of you that means into your mind, for some into your soul, for some into both. I do respect the choice to go … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 23, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
November 23, 2023 by
Americanism Redux November 23, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 A table with chairs around it. A tabletop with platters of food on it. We sit, eat, and talk together. Not all food will be eaten and not all thoughts will be spoken. A moment becomes an event. A space becomes a place. Time becomes a light, carried on waves from a darkness above, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–November 16, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
November 16, 2023 by
Americanism Redux November 16, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Below the written lines are the other lines. The other lines are separators between the life we believe we lead and the life often led, the life of darkness. These other lines are thin, all too thin, though we seldom bother to notice. Until, that is, the other lines snap and wave in the … [Read more...]
The 10-POTUS Checklist–Your Tool For The 2024 Presidential Election
November 11, 2023 by
THE 10-POTUS CHECKLIST--YOUR TOOL FOR THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Last time I did a list like this I entitled it the "9 POTUS Checklist." That's because nine American presidents, as of 2016-2019, had won a first term, won re-nomination as president, and lost the general presidential election for a consecutive second term. The 2020 election added one to the list but changed my findings not … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–November 9, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
November 9, 2023 by
Americanism Redux November 9, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Exhausting, that's what it is. The things I need to do. The things I have to do. The things I can't avoid one minute more and so will do right now. It's a crush, all of it, pressing in on me. Do them without illusion because there's more on the way. Yes, that's right, more on the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: November 2, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
November 2, 2023 by
Americanism Redux November 2, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 There might be one thing that you truly would never, ever give up. * * * * * * * Dr. John Connolly is doing today what he loves doing most, adventuring on a river, seeing the prospects of a new life, absorbing the implications of lost worlds and how the world of now came from … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 26, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
October 26, 2023 by
Americanism Redux October 26, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The marriage you expected, and the marriage you have. One is the life of love. The other is the life of reality. If you're lucky or blessed or both, the two intersect. They share some ground. The record of the sharedness is the story of the marriage. (her ring) * * * * * * … [Read more...]
Thoughts On The Israeli-Hamas War From Colonial America
October 25, 2023 by
Thoughts on the Israeli-Hamas War From Colonial America As Americans, our best lens for looking at the current and future Israeli-Hamas War likely is not 9-11 or Pearl Harbor. They've come to people's minds but I don't think they tell us much. I suggest something a little more unusual. Let's take a moment and gather a few points from the period of the American past usually known as "colonial … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 19, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
October 19, 2023 by
Americanism Redux October 19, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 It comes all jumbled up and twisted together. Knotted and clutched up, in a ball. You have to do the untying and unraveling. Hold a string in one hand, a different string in the other hand, a third string between your teeth and, looking down, you still see about three hundred other … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–October 12, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
October 12, 2023 by
Americanism Redux October 12, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The darkness. Oh, the darkness. Into the darkness I see. * * * * * * * The wolves stay quiet and deep in the forest. Ashes in the campfire are still warm. The gray light of an autumn dawn covers the land and the headwaters of Wallen Creek. Eight people are asleep. Twenty … [Read more...]
The Israeli-Hamas War–A First Thought From A Historical Perspective
October 9, 2023 by
The Israeli-Hamas War--A First Thought From A Historical Perspective Here's my five-minute video on something to watch for this year and next. https://youtu.be/iDk38rhz5Ms … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–October 5, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
October 5, 2023 by
Americanism Redux October 5, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 It's coming. On the water. A Boston newspaper reprints a letter cited in a Philadelphia newspaper. The reprinted letter describes shipments of tea leaving England bound for Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. A ship operator has refused to carry the tea but other ship captains … [Read more...]
Back To Birth For Re-Birth
October 4, 2023 by
Back To Birth For Re-Birth (one of the birthplaces, in Michigan, summer 1854) Quick thoughts on what the past offers to the present state of disarray in the Republican Party. 1. Go back to the birth of the Republican Party in the mid-1850s for some surprising lessons for 2023 and beyond. Re-birth will look a lot like birth. 2. Substance and direction came from the outside-in and the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 28, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
September 28, 2023 by
Americanism Redux September 28, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The ties that bring us together. They bind. They break. They are a physical presence. They are a metaphysical moment. * * * * * * * The door to her jail cell opens. Hagar, the black woman of unknown age, walks out of her cell, a sheriff from the eastern shore of Maryland leads … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux-September 21, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
September 21, 2023 by
Americanism Redux September 21, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The future is in front of you. It's just ahead, in the direction that your face is facing. Always in front. But where's the thing that affects your future? Is it further in front, beyond your sight? Or off to the side, hiding, or behind you, out of your field of vision? Ask … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux-September 14, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Year Ago, In 1773
September 14, 2023 by
Americanism Redux September 14, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The world I know and love is falling apart. Falling apart. What can I do? What can I do to help? Is there something, a talent I possess or an opportunity given to me, that can make a difference? Now is the time. Right now, not next year, not next whenever when the stars have … [Read more...]
The Time After 9-11
September 12, 2023 by
After the tragic event, life continues. The River rolls on. And yet, in the current and in the water, are elements of what just happened back at a spot in the River. How long will they stay? How far into the future, Down River, will they be seen? * * * * * * * It is almost 7:30pm, an early evening of late summer, September 11, 2001. On a rugged hillside outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–September 7, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
September 7, 2023 by
Americanism Redux September 7, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 In New York City, the news is twenty-four hours old. Here and there, clusters of a few people stand and murmur next to cobblestone streets. Then they disappear into the taverns. They're talking about the day-old news. Came aboard ship and landed in the newspaper called the New York … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 31, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
August 31, 2023 by
Americanism Redux August 31, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Well, well, at last the news has arrived in London. The effects of imperial-colonial disputes in Boston and Massachusetts have crossed the ocean. Today, 250 years ago, a London newspaper prints a report on the letters of Governor Thomas Hutchinson and Lieutenant Andrew Oliver secretly … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 24, Your today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
August 24, 2023 by
Americanism Redux August 24, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Close your eyes. To see clearly, close your eyes. Behind eyelids, in the loss of sight, your mind's eye begins to see. In the half-dark, with trails drifting across your vision and points forming into patterns, settle in to let your mind's eye open up. Watch the past begin to show on … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 17, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
August 17, 2023 by
Americanism Redux August 17, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 So ruled, says the judge in Augusta County, British colony of Virginia...and David Essex, who has been caught after running away as a servant from the man who claims to own his labor, can either pay a sum of money or work two more weeks beyond his obligated term of work. It's Essex's … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 10, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
August 10, 2023 by
Americanism Redux August 10, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Sometimes you're just in one of those moods. * * * * * * Think back in your memory. And write it down. Recall what you've seen or read. And write it down. A thing that has stayed in your mind. And write it down. He's in a mood and decides to think back. (Melancholy, by … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: August 3, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
August 3, 2023 by
Americanism Redux August 3, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Oh my God. He's dead. We're still here but we won't have him any longer. That sweet face and kind eyes. Generous heart and active mind. Gone. Now what? That's the feeling today, 250 years ago, and hour by hour it will flow out of the chamber where the dead man lays. From the chamber … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: July 27, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
July 27, 2023 by
Americanism Redux July 27, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The antlers of bucks are just now coming in. They've shed the old to make way for the new. The moon of the month, now in its last phase, is named for the males among the deer. (A fading quarter-light) What a Buck Moon it's been for Janet Livingston. Twenty-nine years old, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: July 20, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
July 20, 2023 by
Americanism Redux July 20, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The change I see in front of me is the change I... ...embrace...or fear...or expect...or dread...or need to prepare for...or have no way of preparing for. And on it goes for me, my family, my circle of loved ones and friends, my community, my nation—or empire—today, 250 years ago. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: July 13, Your today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
July 13, 2023 by
Americanism Redux July 13, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Nemisis. That's his name. (the mountain of Nemisis) He was left, left around here somewhere on this rise of land in the thick, dense forest. His comrades told him they would hide him so the Natives he'd been fighting wouldn't come back and torture him to death. They placed a … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Your Today, July 6, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
July 6, 2023 by
Americanism Redux July 6, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Here they come. Just stand over here with me. Pay attention and keep your eyes and ears open. **************************************** Throughout the day, they come. One person, a pair, a small group. They say much the same things. --He looks so natural. --It's simply amazing, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Overview of Second Quarter (April, May, June) 1773–A 6-Minute Scan And Span Of The Weekly Stories
June 30, 2023 by
Don't have time to read all the stories of Americanism Redux for Q2 1773? Not a problem. Take 6 minutes and get a video overview. And you're always invited and encouraged to double-back and read the stories themselves. It's for you and your leadership as we move toward the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. https://youtu.be/Fukt-jJ3HNc (click the link above) … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 29, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
June 29, 2023 by
Americanism Redux June 29, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 A second thought? Do I give it a second thought? Do those things that just happen to me right now, the things that will define the 24-hour today, do I really know they'll last beyond today? It depends on the things, on what they actually are. That's the truth 250 years ago today and … [Read more...]
Two Lives–Death and Doom, Them and Us
June 27, 2023 by
Below is a copy of one of my most important blog posts on the two pandemics, 1918-1921 and 2020-2022. As I think you'll see, the gap of time means nothing but the nature of time means everything. ******************************************************************************* A People And Two Lifes. Regardless of where you are with the pandemic today, one point we can agree on is the difficulty … [Read more...]
The 1920s-As-2020s Overview – The Rhyme Of History
June 27, 2023 by
THE 1920s-As-2020s Overview – The Rhyme of History Laying the Groundwork... Americans of 2020-2023 and Americans of 1918-1921 share a striking similarity. They encountered, endured, and exited a deeply serious public crisis. That crisis shared (rhymed, in my parlance) key realities. The primary sharing point was that in both periods Americans coped with a pandemic that collided with the major … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 22, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
June 22, 2023 by
Americanism Redux June 22, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Filled with them. The pages are filled with them. The people—men, women, children—who are on the run, seeking freedom from some various forms of forced labor. They are enslaved. They are apprenticed. They are bound by contract to one or the other of people who expect forced labor by … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 15, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
June 15, 2023 by
Americanism Redux June 15, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 Three ties that bind, British to colonial British, colonial British to British. But what is in the ties, and will binding become a bond or a bounding? * * * * * * * Hand me that pen. Yes, paper, too. I'll get the ink. Now stand back and leave me alone. I've never been more furious … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 8, Your Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
June 8, 2023 by
Americanism Redux June 8, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 In the sights of your eyes...on a street in Paris, France. I want to see her, move aside and let me closer to the street. Has anyone seen her yet? I can't wait to know if she's as beautiful as they say she is in her portraits. I may look a mess, maybe I'm hungry a lot of the time but none … [Read more...]
A Phrase Returns
June 5, 2023 by
In last week’s Talkshop (Rapids From The River: You, The 2024 Election, And 5 Moments In The American River), I explained to the participants my River construct. In that explanation we explored the idea of repetition across time. This involved my view of Rhyming—that rapids on the river recur, shallows on the river recur, bends on the river recur, everything on the river recurs. The key reality … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: June 1, Your Today, on the Journey to the American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
June 1, 2023 by
Americanism Redux June 1, your today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 The world is a place where horses scream. From terror, panic, uncontrollable fright. Brought on by a penetrating strike into the deepest instinctual sense of self-preservation. The final breath of death that closes what began with the first breath of birth. This horse screams as the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Today, Your Day, May 25, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
May 25, 2023 by
Americanism Redux May 25, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 He agonizes. John Adams agonizes, to himself, in his diary, today, 250 years ago. (John Adams) "Tomorrow is our General Election." "The Plotts, Plans, Schemes, and Machinations of this Evening and Night, will be very numerous. By the number of Ministerial, Governmental People … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 18, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago Today, In 1773
May 18, 2023 by
Americanism Redux May 18, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 The river is running fast. (Salmon Falls River) Away from the rushing current mid-stream, two figures float in the water. They drift and turn slowly in the water that laps up to the bank. They are two bodies, the corpses of Lucy Lord and Jonathan Hardison. The pine trees stand in … [Read more...]
Welcome
May 11, 2023 by
Some of you know that I did extensive research and writing on the Two Pandemics, the influenza pandemic of 1918-1921 and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2023. I'll be featuring some of my most well-received posts from that work as well as developing new material for posting here. Stay tuned! Thanks for your involvement. … [Read more...]
Welcome!
May 11, 2023 by
Thank you for visiting a new part of my latest work, the 20s-as-20s. It's my strong belief that we in the 2020s are living a kind of poetic rhyme with the 1920s. It's not identical, but it has a particular connected motion that can look and feel oddly similar. Think of the words "hog", "fog", "clog", and "dog." They're different in meaning but in their rhyming they can give a sense of movement if … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 11, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
May 11, 2023 by
Americanism Redux May 11, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Hear the baby crying. Hungry for a feeding. Another woman will need to nurse her. The baby's mother, Sarah, died yesterday at the age of 37. The baby is—or should it be "was"?—Sarah's eighth. Sarah's husband, her widower of a day's length, places his head in his hands. He walks to the mound of … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: May 4, Today, On The Journey To The American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
May 4, 2023 by
Americanism Redux May 4, today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773 There goes one. Gentle in the air. Falling, drifting onto the bright green grass without making a sound. Delicate and soft in its color and shade. The breeze carries it down. These are the blossoms of the fruit trees, descending one by one after a week of brilliant fragrance. They'll begin to … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 27, today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773
April 27, 2023 by
Americanism Redux April 27, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 A black man sits in a small wooden hut in the woods of the Hudson River valley. It's been made, hastily, just for him. Up until a few days ago, he was working with a crew digging for iron ore. He was one of the best workers on the crew. It was back-breaking stuff, shovels and pick-axes powered … [Read more...]
Rapids From The River: FIVE Moments From The American Experience For Your Leadership And The 2024 Election
April 25, 2023 by
The public mental condition surrounding the 2024 election will be strained, pained, and woundful. If you are a leader, you will be leading in these elements. Take note—you must prepare yourself in advance. Take heart as well. There are significant moments in the American past and history that can embolden your leadership and its resilience, endurance, and steadfastness. To assist you, I have … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 20, today, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago, in 1773
April 20, 2023 by
Americanism Redux April 20, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Who's going to sign? Get up here and sign your name. (sign here) One by one, around a table, four men lean forward. Hands on the desk to steady the sheet of paper. In turn, each man takes the quill pen and dips the pen into a small bottle of ink. Each man moves his hand quickly onto … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 13, Today 250 Years Ago, on the journey to the American Founding, in 1773
April 13, 2023 by
Americanism Redux April 13, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 "Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, dear name-goes-here, Happy Birthday to you..." They finish the crooning. Or maybe shouts of "for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow..." They stretch out that last note. If … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Video Overview, The First Quarter of 1773, On the journey to the American Founding
April 6, 2023 by
For a 6-minute trip the 12 weeks of January, February, and March 1773, watch my video overview. https://youtu.be/XK-sNfb2RUc … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: April 6, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
April 6, 2023 by
Americanism Redux April 6, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Sometimes you don't realize the importance of the words. Sometimes you do. Whether spoken or written to yourself, to someone else, to a group of people. These are some of the words spoken and written today, 250 years ago. (spoken or written) * * * * * * * Six words spoken … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 30, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
March 30, 2023 by
Americanism Redux March 30, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Clip, clop. Horses on the street. Click, clack. Shoes and walking sticks on the sidewalk. Bustle and noise. Standing in front of the imposing building, top step of the stone stairs before you go inside. You're in the shadows of six massive Roman-like pillars or columns, three of them to … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 23–on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today–1773
March 23, 2023 by
Americanism Redux March 23, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Overall, the mood was rather bright and upbeat. That's what he thought, at any rate. Everyone seemed relieved that the biggest crime threat of this young year was dealt with, the law-breakers caught, tried, and punished. Always a good thing when counterfeiters are taken off the street and … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 16, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773
March 16, 2023 by
Americanism Redux March 16, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Beneath a blanket of snow, a grave recently dug holds the body of a deceased elderly woman. She is Margaret-Christine Otis Baker of Dover, New Hampshire, 85 years old at the time of her death back in late February. Today, 250 years ago, her three-week old death is so significant that the people … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 9, Today, On the Journey To American Founding, 250 Years Ago, in 1773
March 9, 2023 by
Americanism Redux March 9, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 It's one of those days. Nothing special on the face of it. Life sprawls, today, 250 years ago. (Ordinary Day, sunrise) You see kindness. A Christian pastor travels from house to house in Westborough, Massachusetts. He's visiting members of his congregation who are sick. A young boy, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–6-Minute Video Overview of the Fourth Quarter–Today 250 Years Ago–in 1773
March 8, 2023 by
Below is my quarterly overview video. See and hear the highlights of the stories of October, November, and December 1772 on our journey to the American Founding in July 1776. https://youtu.be/GJl5M2zzZF4 Thanks for watching! … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: March 2, Today, On The Journey To American Founding, 250 Years Ago, In 1773
March 2, 2023 by
Americanism Redux March 2, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Walk down Newbury Street. Come to the intersection with Pond Street. There's the house, right over there, the big house with the fancy door. That's your destination. You're about to knock on the fancy door. When the servant opens it you'll ask for the owner. You need to see him. You have … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 23, On The Path To American Founding, 250 Years Ago Today, 1773
February 23, 2023 by
Americanism Redux February 23, on the path to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1773 The pursuit of freedom can take you to weird places with odd relationships. Today, 250 years ago, the pursuit of freedom leads to England, near London, where ship Captain Robert Calef sits in the home of a wealthy aristocratic woman named Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. Calef has … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 9–Life and the American Founding–Today 250 Years Ago: 1773
February 9, 2023 by
Americanism Redux February 9—Life and the American Founding—Today 250 Years Ago: 1773 The tiny seeds had gone in the ground a few weeks back, after Christmas. Planted in dirt finer than grains of sand, the seeds were now seedlings. Tender and green shoots of the new plants poked up from the ground, no taller than the length of your finger. The Virginia soil has given birth to this year's … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: February 2 – Today 250 Years Ago – in 1773
February 2, 2023 by
Americanism Redux It's Today, February 2, 250 years ago—In 1773 Good lord, the air is cold. You inhale and your lungs feel like they're frozen together. Exhale and a whitish air rises and disappears. Again and again. Inner pangs of cold, outer clouds of frost. Up you go. (winter transportation) You're on the plank board that serves as a seat. Bundled with densely woven clothes, … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux – January 19 – 250 Years Ago Today – in 1773
January 19, 2023 by
Americanism Redux January 19, 250 years ago today, in 1773 Teaching and education. My life. I teach young people how to think. I teach adults how to worship. God made me to live this life. I've met a person, a parent, actually a step-father for whom I've developed great respect. The step-father respects me, too, I think. Yes, I'm certain he does. That's not bragging. It's a mutually … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux – January 12 – Today 250 Years Ago – 1773
January 12, 2023 by
Americanism Redux January 12, 250 years ago today, in 1773 "All in favor say 'aye'." The hands raised up. "One", "two", "three", and on it went. The count was finished but the outcome was never in doubt. The group wanted to do it. Excited. Motivated. Resolved. Today, in the British colonial capital of South Carolina, the Charleston Library Society approves the plan to "to establish a … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux – Today – January 4 – 250 Years Ago in 1773
January 4, 2023 by
Americanism Redux January 4, 250 years ago today in 1773 (Colony House, Newport, Rhode Island) Clean out the room where the hearing will be held. Do the work. Sweep the floors. Wipe down the seats and the rails. Stack firewood. Candles at the ready. Make sure nothing from the first floor works it way up the stairs to the second floor. First floor: the marketplace, scene of money … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux – 250 Years Ago Today – December 28, 1772
December 28, 2022 by
Americanism Redux December 28, 250 years ago today, in 1772 Flowing out. Spreading. Ceaseless and unrelenting. Waters broken through the mill dam and covering the cold, dry ground. How to stop it? How to hold it back? That's the reality of today 250 years ago. Towns in Massachusetts are beginning to hold meetings to consider the Statement of Rights produced by the Boston town council … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux-Today – December 21 – 250 Years Ago-1772
December 21, 2022 by
Americanism Redux December 21, 250 years ago today (1772) On a ship, today, 250 years ago, he looks at the Florida coast. But a lifetime ago he was somewhere else, looking at a moment that would begin to define his life. ******************************************************************************************************* He feels the cave's walls on his body. He clutches a small … [Read more...]
Almost Ready To Release–The 80-Year Old Film You Need To See
December 16, 2022 by
The war. The Second World War. And one of the greatest movies of all time. 80 Decembers ago it was almost ready for release. If you want a glimpse into attitudes that Americans of that time had for the world at large, here's your chance to see it. Casablanca. You likely know the story of the movie. Bogart plays an American, Rick, who owns a bar/cafe in Casablanca, Morocco. To his shock, Ilsa, a … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux-250 Years Ago Today-December 14, 1772
December 14, 2022 by
Americanism Redux December 14, 250 years ago today The baby, a day old, sleeps. Tiny eyelids, soft skin, the wispiest of wispy hair. Fingers are curled. Invisible breaths in and out, the chest rising and falling less than a sixteenth of an inch. Perhaps now is the perfect time for mother to catch a quick nap. She's not really sure. It's her first baby. Phebe, the mother, is 19 years old. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–250 Years Ago Today–December 7 1772
December 7, 2022 by
Americanism Redux December 7, 250 years ago today Yes-To-Tom. Yes(terday) – To(day) – Tom(orrow) Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Time in sequence as you live it and know it/as it comes, stays, and goes/as you were, is, and will be. Yes-To-Tom. Yesterday, a ship captain named Prince made himself at home as best he can along the docks of New York City. He collected his thoughts in … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–250 Years Ago Today–November 30 1772
November 30, 2022 by
Americanism Redux November 30, 250 years ago today Some strings are invisible. They exist out of sight until you're reminded that they're there. Serving as ties to home, family, place, beliefs, dreams, and dozens of other things, these strings bind your life together. You may lose track of them in the bustle of daily life, but they won't lose their connection to you. Making them takes time. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–250 Years Ago Today–November 23
November 23, 2022 by
Americanism Redux November 23, 250 years ago today Today, 250 years ago, the announcement comes forth in a document read aloud to the people of New Hampshire: "to be religiously observed and kept as a day of public thanksgiving", a day next week will be set aside to express the people's gratitude and gratefulness for their British Monarch, King George III. New Hampshire's royal governor John … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: 250 Years Ago Today, November 15
November 15, 2022 by
Americanism Redux November 15, 250 years ago today So. This is what the boss wants. Wants me to give my thoughts as to how we can make things better around here, make things work right, make things the way they ought to be. Oh really? Well, it's about time. Happy to oblige. Buckle up. Here we go. The do's and the don'ts. I've got clear answers. Do...stop expanding. No more. … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: 250 Years Ago Today, November 9
November 9, 2022 by
Americanism Redux November 9, 1772, 250 years ago today The youth and their futures as the skies of today turn gray and cold. 21-year old James Madison writes from his family's Virginia plantation home to a friend he'd known in college. Madison thanks him for his friendship and for staying in close contact via letters. He congratulates his friend on a decision to continue … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: 250 Years Ago Today, November 2
November 2, 2022 by
Americanism Redux November 2, 250 years ago today Dozens of candles and lanterns glowed against the walls and columns painted in white. The flickering light revealed each delicate wave and curving line in the glass of the window panes. People talked, loudly and in urgent tones. A vote was called for. Hands raised up. All in favor. Yes. Passed. Gavel smacks down. Murmurs rippled around … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–250 Years Ago Today–Video Summary & A Few Thoughts–3rd Quarter 1772
October 27, 2022 by
Here you go. A short look at where we've been in July, August, and September 1772. https://youtu.be/KI0nzPABCRA For a few more thoughts on the points... A little more beyond the video on the four main points in summary from Q3 1772. Oh, and be sure to read my ending sections here after the four points. 1st— Diversity... In the nineteen (19) stories I shared with you from Q3 1772 you … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: Today, October 18, 250 Years Ago
October 18, 2022 by
Americanism Redux October 18, 250 years ago today He shook his head. So disappointing. To be within sight of the place we've dreamed of, our destination and the life we want. It's just right out there, the beautiful shoreline. But we can't go. The officials here won't allow it. The brutes just told him that, in tones and manner he'd seen far too often back in a corner of Ireland, the … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: October 13, Today, 250 Years Ago
October 13, 2022 by
Americanism Redux October 13, 250 years ago today Golden leaves in the day and chilled air at night. October 13. My college diploma still feels fresh, barely a year old. I miss that life that ended last year. We had classes, professors, weekly assignments, reading and writing. We socialized, attended dinners, danced, made friends for life and friends for the night, drank too … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux–Today–October 5–250 Years Ago
October 5, 2022 by
Americanism Redux October 5, 250 years ago today A chance to watch a sporting event? hang out with friends? sip an adult beverage? in one of my favorite towns? Count me in. But hold up, give me a minute. I've got to get my best powdered wig and false teeth. OK, got 'em. I'm ready. Let's get going. (Sound familiar? Well, maybe not all of it. Still, most of it seems like last … [Read more...]
Americanism Redux: September 28, 250 Years Ago
September 28, 2022 by
Americanism Redux September 28, 250 years ago today The parents looked down at the crib. Their baby, their first, is two days old. A beautiful daughter. Maybe something is not quite right, a little too pale and a little too fussy and a little too congested. Well, who knows. Maybe everything will be fine. Mom is Martha, nicknamed Patty by her husband, who is Tom. Patty and Tom were … [Read more...]
September 20–Today–250 Years Ago
September 20, 2022 by
Americanism Redux September 20, 250 years ago today For now, their lives are apart. Separate and unjoined. They don't know it but Down River—in the future—they will collide in the roaring waters. That day awaits, a lamp moving over a black surface. A 50-year old man writes a letter. Living in Virginia, he encloses a copy of family documents important to the woman who is waiting … [Read more...]
September 14–Today–250 Years Ago
September 14, 2022 by
Americanism Redux September 14, 250 years ago today She lay in bed with him next to her. Nine years in love. Nine years making a home. Besides their life together they'd made life further at least twice, their two daughters. They call her Mama, which she is. They call him Papa, which he is. But Mama and Papa are not husband and wife. Maybe someday, maybe sometime, but not now. Same bed, … [Read more...]
An Off-Shoot
September 12, 2022 by
I spend a lot of time in time passed. The past. All time before now. Since this is so, I'd like to offer an out-of-the way thought from the 21st anniversary of September 11, 2001, or 9-11 as it's shortened for history, those small slices of the past chosen to be remembered. I'm thinking of the Invisible Triangle. The Invisible Triangle affects you, me, all and each of us. It … [Read more...]
September 7–Today–250 Years Ago
September 7, 2022 by
Americanism Redux September 7, 250 years ago today The signboard of The Dog and Pot hangs over the front door of the same-named tavern in Boston. Sign of The Dog and Pot tavern in Boston Inside, candles flicker in lanterns fixed to the walls. Scattered across heavy tables are tankards of ale, a tin plate or two, a carved wooden bowl, and half-filled bottles. The air smells of old … [Read more...]
August 31–Today–250 Years Ago
August 31, 2022 by
Americanism Redux August 31, 250 years ago today The eye stares down. The eye sees all. Under the gaze of the eye stands a little church where, yesterday, a small group of people had gathered to worship, to sing, to pray, to hear a sermon. They didn't know the eye would soon move over them. In its gaze. Midnight nears. Horror looks different in the dark. During the four hours … [Read more...]
August 26–Today–250 Years Ago
August 26, 2022 by
Americanism Redux August 26, 250 years ago today I'm turning this thing around...today! No more tricks, no more games, no more local-yokel garbage that delays and delays and delays until everyone just forgets and the thing disappears. No more. Today is when it starts and it starts with me and my pronouncement. The damn people burned my boat...uh...our boat...uh...our vessel...uh...our … [Read more...]
August 19-Today-250 Years Ago
August 19, 2022 by
Americanism Redux August 19, 250 years ago today A dress hangs painfully on her arms and back. It's hard to get comfortable with the fabric rubbing against the scars and bruises. 70-year old Margaret remembers the latest beating. Her second husband, named Savage, hit her with a leather strap. He does it a lot. For today, 250 years ago, she heals. And she'll use today in seeking another … [Read more...]
August 12-Today-250 Years Ago
August 12, 2022 by
Americanism Redux August 12, 250 years ago today God Almighty, it's hot. Never seen anything like it. Her slender, delicate fingers reach to dot the beads of sweat on her forehead. She tucks a few strands of her light-colored hair back under her cloth bonnet. 20-year old Elizabeth may look calm and composed on the outside. Inside, she's nervous and unsettled. She never thought about … [Read more...]
August 5-Today-250 Years Ago
August 5, 2022 by
Americanism Redux August 5, 250 years ago today Lay the paper flat on the table. Hold the edges down. Write the terms of agreement. Sign your name. Change our world. Today, in Vienna, Joseph II, co-emperor of Austria with his mother, Maria Theresa, announces his written agreement to a plan that divides up the eastern portion of the fledgling nation of Poland. Frederick II, king of … [Read more...]
July 29-Today-250 Years Ago
July 29, 2022 by
Americanism Redux July 29, 250 years ago today It's a river called "Mad", flowing into a river called "Big Waters", or Miami as it's known in the language of one native people, flowing into a river so appealing that another native people used their rival language to find the word for "Beautiful"... The Ohio. In these watered lands a four-year old boy lives with a large family. His … [Read more...]
July 23 – Today – 250 Years Ago
July 23, 2022 by
Americanism Redux July 23, 250 years ago today He is, literally, a hot head on this summer day. It's hard not to be when you've got sweat on your head. The sweat of his scalp spreads out from the roots of his hair. The woven fibers laying over them are soaking up the perspiration. His nose detects the faintest scent of olive oil, a sign that his servant has cleaned the fibers while … [Read more...]
July 16
July 16, 2022 by
Americanism Redux July 16, 250 years ago today July 16, 250 years ago today My best friend. Does she think I don't care anymore? Holding a letter signed and sealed and sent from Newport, Rhode Island, the 19-year old girl reads the lines and realizes her best friend didn't receive the last letter she'd written a while ago. The thick paper shook slightly in her thin, almost frail … [Read more...]
July 9
July 9, 2022 by
Americanism Redux July 9 If you could see his hands, you'd know what he did. Black stains fill the lines and wrinkles on his hand, fill the tiny crevices around his fingernails. 250 years ago today. He is a printer, one of the most influential and successful owner-operators of a media company in colonial Philadelphia. 58-year old David Hall watches as today's edition of the four-page … [Read more...]
July 4
July 4, 2022 by
He decides. Today, 250 years ago in 1772. Freedom for me. I'm breaking away from the doctor. Sure, he bought me. Sure, a signed document sealed the deal. Sure, my freedom is gone in exchange for being here in a strange land. None of it matters, he tells himself. Now is the time. He makes his own personal declaration of independence in the shadow of the Pennsylvania State House on Walnut Street … [Read more...]
July 1
July 1, 2022 by
For him, it was a long day on a business trip. Hoping to find new clients, maybe yes, maybe no. Now, moon rising, he's lonely being away from his family. He's 36 years old, stuck for tonight in a small, isolated coastal town. In a guest room strange to him with a candle glowing next to the bed, he reaches for a paper-bound book in his travel bag. The book is a stage play, banned from public … [Read more...]
The 1920s As The 2020s: A Powerpoint Overview
April 29, 2022 by
Below is a 12-slide powerpoint overview of my Leadership Construct known as "20s-As-20s." It's a brief and high-level summary of how I believe the two decades of the 1920s and 2020s rhyme with each other—not repeat, but rhyme—in trends, events, and decision-points. I'm offering this to you free of charge. Below are supplemental remarks that provide slightly more context. If you'd like to explore … [Read more...]
The Run-Up Yardstick
March 22, 2022 by
THE RUN-UP YARDSTICK AMERICAN INSIGHTS FROM 1917, 1941, AND THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS OF 2022 This document supplements my Facebook Live show that I broadcast during the week of March 14, 2022. I shared in the show those aspects of American entry into World War I (April 1917) and World War II (December 1941) that struck me as useful in 2022 as the Ukrainian crisis continues to unfold as a potential … [Read more...]
A State Of The Union In Three Forms
February 28, 2022 by
Depending on when you're reading this, POTUS 46 will either be delivering the speech on Tuesday, March 1 or has already done so. Regardless, I'd like to share briefly three examples to help you gauge and measure our current moment under broadly similar conditions. The examples fit around a set of criteria. 1) a major European war is happening; 2) Americans know it, with a meaningful percentage … [Read more...]
Hard In The Center And Soft On The Edges: The Washington Post And Year Three
February 7, 2022 by
February 7 of Year Three of the pandemics of 2022 and 1920. Hard in the center and soft everywhere else. That's my assessment of the Washington Post article from yesterday that's now circulating today across the nation. The article is about the importance of knowing the parallel dates of early February in 2022 and 1920. Yes, at the center of the point is a hard fact—the cursed illness is … [Read more...]
The Rhyme Of A Time: The Poem Of 23
February 2, 2022 by
It's the 23s all around. 23rd month for our pandemic of 2020-2022. 23rd month for your ancestors' pandemic of 1918-1920. Today I begin my early-morning scan of "the news." The very phrase is scary these days. I'm never quite sure if it's my version of the carnival barker, the town crier, or various chicken bones and frog toes arranged in a particular pattern. Whatever it is today, I plunge … [Read more...]
A People And Two Lifes
January 27, 2022 by
Regardless of where you are with the pandemic today, one point we can agree on is the difficulty it's presented to the American people. Think about your view of and attitude toward the pandemic, whatever your stance on the topic. You could agree that "difficult" describes it. Think also about people who disagree with you. Somewhere along the line you'll encounter the word "difficult" or you'll … [Read more...]
Day 504: January 25
January 25, 2022 by
1918 Influenza Pandemic Day 504 You read it right--504th day of the pandemic. But it's not ours in 2022 but theirs, or rather your family's at that point, in 1920, a half-thousand days into the influenza pandemic. Let's match your family's life then to you and your family's life now. Warnings: I want you to be sitting down when you read this. Also, put away any light, throwable objects that … [Read more...]
Sr And Jr
January 25, 2022 by
Sr. and Jr. The distinction between them can be as vast as the universe. That's not a bad thing, just a real thing. I thought I'd share a short but true story with you about the gap. To start, full disclosure: I'm not a Kennedy guy. Still, I can appreciate without being a supporter. Moreover, I know something about speeches, leadership, communication, crisis, and the millions of stories on … [Read more...]
Fifteen People
January 20, 2022 by
What number of people can destroy a world? One answer is 15. It is today, January 20, in 1942, that 15 men gather around a large table and in two hours agree on a plan to kill every Jewish man, woman, and child they can find, wielding all the powers a nation-state can give them. The journal of one of the participants survives, allowing us to know this. The 15 were various German … [Read more...]
This Month In 1968–Not Yet The City Of Peace
January 17, 2022 by
Today, in 2022, we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Today in 1968 he is still alive and unaware of the future to come. Also today in 1968 the city that will be the scene of shocking silence on the night of his death is equally unaware of the future to come. I've written a short book about six leaders who lived their lives on the night that King lost his. These six people share three things--they are … [Read more...]
Twice Rhymed: November 2–2021 and 1919
November 2, 2021 by
The past makes sounds in history. These sounds rhyme. Yes. These sounds repeat. No, no, and no. Today, across the 102 years spanning 2021 and 1919, we'll hear two rhymes of pandemic. I want you to remember the pair of rhymes as you move from this year now (the present) to this year next (the future). Please follow below for just a few minutes as I guide you through image and text. ...the … [Read more...]
The Stage of Indiana University Football Grief
September 6, 2021 by
With apologies to Dr. Kubler-Ross... This past Saturday I sat down with three buddies to watch the opening game of the Indiana University football season. I left with my own version of the stages of grief. Let's call it the IU Football Fan's Stages of Grief. Stage One is leading up to kickoff. It's aspirational, hopeful, the world is a wonderful place. Talk of top rankings and new bowl-game … [Read more...]
A Short Talk On A Sunday Afternoon
September 1, 2021 by
This is a FREE leadership exercise. I invite you to use it. And when you're done, I invite you to reach out to me for a FREE second step (more about that below). Our topic is leadership and communication, though as you'll see, it's really a lot more than that. You'll move through Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower's experience of his first significant meeting with Army Chief of Staff General … [Read more...]
Of Late August
August 30, 2021 by
Of late August then They were scared. By the millions, they were scared. As August ended, Americans looked out their windows at the dying grass and hot winds. The chance that the pandemic would return again in the fall scared millions of them to death. Over a period of eighteen months, three waves of pandemic had ripped its way through American life. Influenza. With the final weeks of … [Read more...]
One Year Later: Leaving The Pandemic
July 16, 2021 by
A Historical Solutions Leadership Talkshop for summer 2021...register now... Leaving The Pandemic: Your Leadership And The Lessons One Year After World War II, World War I, And The Civil War. It's 1946, 1919, and 1866 and Americans have put hard times in the rear-view mirror. They've said goodbye to the problems and difficulties of a major struggle—World War II, World War I, and the Civil … [Read more...]
Eleven Years–Then And Now
July 13, 2021 by
Think about Americans, American civic life, and moving visual images. The first use of motion pictures in American presidential elections was in March 1901 with the inauguration of William McKinley. Filmed by the inventor of film--Thomas Edison. Again, 1901. The first use of motion pictures in American presidential campaigns was in fall 1912 with the campaign of Woodrow Wilson. Filmed by a … [Read more...]
Not So Different
July 10, 2021 by
“All right, we are two nations.” Sad. Tough to bear. Not a lot of hope for things to get better. The American people spit and scowl at each other as splits, divisions, and internal hostilities set citizen against citizen, group against group. The quote above comes from the mind and heart of an American intellectual. Essayist, novelist, occasional journalist. The quote-maker knows the … [Read more...]
The Declaration of Independence: Five Thoughts For Your Leadership
July 2, 2021 by
I offer these five thoughts for leadership, drawn from the Declaration of Independence. #1 The Declaration was the work of a committee. A group of five delegates got the call to form a committee to write a draft of the Declaration for review, editing, and completion. In addition, the Continental Congress constituted itself as a committee-of-the-whole. In this fashion each of the fifty or so … [Read more...]
Yesterday and Today–for the rest of the year
April 20, 2021 by
"Tell us what you think about the rest of the year." That was the request made of me for this morning. Yesterday, to prepare, I wrote down four points for 2021. I'd like to share them with you now and also thank the Hendricks County (IN) Republican Party for their graciousness in hosting me. With your sights set on April-December 2021, here you go. Point #1: The The Roaring Twenties today … [Read more...]
From The Pandemic And The Turning Of The Earth–Point Three of Eight
March 15, 2021 by
I missed writing the entry yesterday, Sunday. Actually, I wrote part of today's entry sitting in my car and finished the rest on the following morning in a coffee shop. To refresh, I talked briefly about the past year of pandemic during my most recent show of "Today In Leadership History" (seen on Facebook Live). Eight points or thoughts seemed significant to me. We're almost half-way through more … [Read more...]
From The Pandemic And The Turning Of The Earth–Point Two of Eight
March 13, 2021 by
Yesterday I began an eight-part series on my main thoughts looking back on a year of pandemic. To remind, the previous twelve months were my primary theme in my most recent edition of my weekly show "Today In Leadership History" (seen on Facebook Live). I won't repeat the list of six items that made March 11, 2020 such a historic day. You'll find them on this blog, the prior entry. Let's get … [Read more...]
From The Pandemic And The Turning Of The Earth – Point One Of Eight
March 12, 2021 by
Last night, in the early Thursday evening of March 11, 2021, I devoted my weekly show "Today In Leadership History" (seen on Facebook Live) to a recounting of major events a year ago on the same day. On that one day the World Health Organization defined coronavirus as a pandemic; POTUS 45 closed travel from Europe; the NBA suspended its season; Tom and Rita Hanks disclosed from Australia that … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: December 3
December 3, 2020 by
The ship awaits, 1918 Now And Today, December 3, 2020 The risings. That's what we've got. Going up across the board. The spread of the virus—rising. The extent of anger over actions taken and not taken—rising. The level of frustration with those who don't agree with you—rising. The chances of vaccines—rising. The probability that Christmas and the holidays look nothing like previous … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: November 25
November 25, 2020 by
Wilson Tout, later in life, birding Now And Today, November 25, 2020 Three clumps of life today. One is the numbers counted. One is the people known. One is the stuff in between. Life shakes out into three clumps on the day before Thanksgiving. The numbers counted are everywhere. Of cases. Of tests. Of the hospitalized. Of the dead. Of hospitals under stress. And also of potential … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: November 19
November 19, 2020 by
Gettysburg 1918 Now And Today, November 19, 2020 The mud sticks to your shoes. Hard to walk in the gray shadows between sun and night, night and sun. Can't remember which they are. You try to scrape the mud off by rubbing one shoe against the other. A few steps and stop. A few steps and stop. The third time you realize something. The ground you're walking on is getting softer and wetter and … [Read more...]
If History Rhymes: The Poem of Kamala Coolidge
November 12, 2020 by
The 2020s and the 1920s are already rhyming. They already display patterns and movements that have this weird sync with one another. Not exact. Not mirrored. But zigging and zigging, zagging and zagging, the stuff of times and rhymes, these are all around us. The waves of pandemic are only the start, powerful yes, but merely the first of many. I've written about the rhyming of two candidates … [Read more...]
My Response And A Cup Of Coffee
November 12, 2020 by
An alumnus of mine just sent me the screen shot of something dressed as analysis. It's from a media outlet in my home state of Indiana. As a consulting leadership historian and, more importantly, someone who has real regard for the person who sent me the image, I offer a response. As you'll see, the five points that disqualify the analogy of the influenza pandemic's “second wave” are as … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: November 11
November 11, 2020 by
Now And Today, November 11, 2020 The election is the end of it. The long struggle winds down in the presidential campaign and other campaigns of the political season. Results in or coming in, tallies and totals, winners and losers, winning sides and losing sides. Despite a ragged gathering, conducting, and counting of votes, the end is here. The end is far from here with the pandemic. We're … [Read more...]
TTP: ElectionDay-To-InaugurationDay–Paddles & Yardstick
November 2, 2020 by
ElectionDay-To-InaugurationDay: Your Leadership & 5 Crisis Periods From American History Five times in American life a crisis has blazed away in the period from Election Day to Inauguration Day. Fives times Americans have faced turmoil, confusion, uncertainty, and potential chaos in this stretch of days and weeks covering the end of one year's presidential election and the next year's … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 31
October 31, 2020 by
The Susquehanna in autumn Now And Today, October 31, 2020 Back and forth we've gone. Whether or not to have Halloween. Cities, counties, townships, towns, the burbs, the countryside. Doesn't matter, they're all up for grabs and on the bubble on observing Halloween. Yes in some places. No in others. And in between the sincere attempts to offer, in a word popular these days, a hybrid. A … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 26
October 26, 2020 by
POTUS Now And Today, October 26, 2020 You want to know something that is nearly impossible? Separating politics and the pandemic on this day. The truth is that we'll get a cure, a vaccine, a 3-D digitized image of the virus and every treatment known to humankind, a winning lottery ticket with free steak knives thrown in before we'll ever figure out how to pull apart the election … [Read more...]
Clouds And Seeds–The Difference
October 22, 2020 by
A cloud and a seed don't sound like the same thing. I wonder if we sometimes act like they're the same thing, assume they're the same thing, pass them by as if they're the same thing. I offer a gentle reminder to you that they are not the same thing. Especially now as we live out the rhyming of our 2020 pandemic with the 1918-1920 pandemic. I had a wonderful private meeting with a client of … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 20
October 20, 2020 by
Now And Today, October 20, 2020 Promised Land. Promised Time. Outside the gate the fog is gone and the fields are clear. Time for you to run through. Away from rules and strictures, from fences. The air freshens, the light brightens, and the sounds ring just a little bit truer. How great it is. You've gone somewhere or you are somewhere and the pandemic didn't follow in full. Vacation, a … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: October 5
October 5, 2020 by
Speed Now And Today, October 5, 2020 The speed is incomprehensible. From nowhere, the virus appears in one, then five, then twenty. In a small space, person to person, contact to contact, the virus spreads in a matter of minutes and shows signs in a matter of hours. One day you see someone you know, the next day you see them behind glass, mask on, isolated and removed. Then they start, the … [Read more...]
TTP: The Pandemic Presidents
October 5, 2020 by
POTUS 45 and POTUS 28 They are the Pandemic Presidents, Donald J. Trump and T. Woodrow Wilson. We'll get to that in a minute. First, I'd like you to go back and breathe in the early winter air of late 2016. That's when I got the first whiff, invisible yet detectable. Time tracks forward, in a line from one minute to the next, one day to the next, and on we go. In reality, though, time flows … [Read more...]
A Year Ahead
October 2, 2020 by
The fog of the future A pandemic afflicted Americans in 1918. The worst of it was in the fall, especially October. By year's end, the worst was behind them. They looked forward to a new year, the next year, the future in its first frame. We do the same thing in 2020. Ready and eager to leave this year behind us, we anticipate 2021. In a recent speech delivered online, POTUS 45 Donald J. … [Read more...]
TTP: Your Waters Of The Day
October 1, 2020 by
Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson Nearly all of POTUS 45's term is past. It is in the past, as in before now. We don't know if the adjective “first” or “one” will precede the word "term." That's not the choice I am asking you to make today. Settle down. Easy does it. I have something else in mind. Clearly, among the fundamental leadership points raised in the experience of POTUS 45 is … [Read more...]
Wave Two: From 2020 To 1918: Tending Haystacks
September 29, 2020 by
With thanks to Claude Monet The date of September 28, 1918 has been rolling around in my mind for the past several hours. I think a follow-up to yesterday's entry is in order (that entry is here https://historicalsolutions.com/1918-pandemic/wave-two-from-2020-to-1918-september-28/). That this follow-up is so untypical in my Wave Two series ought to give a you a glimpse into my thinking about … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 to 1918: September 28
September 28, 2020 by
Convergence in the dark Now And Today, September 28, 2020 The last thing you want to do will not stand much of a chance when it's placed alongside the first thing you want to do. The last thing may take control for a while but, over time, the first thing will be back on top. First things are first things for a reason. The dominant sight in your everyday life will not allow itself to be … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 24
September 24, 2020 by
Rules and rules-doers Now And Today, September 24, 2020 The rules last until they don't. The rules apply until they can't. The rules matter until life overrides or circumvents them. The next stage after that is a mess with nothing to hold it together—it's just simply next as a state of time. Not all spaces are created equal. The space to be together and learn is not equal to any random … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 22
September 22, 2020 by
From July 1918, a few weeks before Dr. Welch arrives, and departs Now And Today, September 22, 2020 The pandemic has pervaded and invaded at the same time. It's in bodies, in places, in customs and habits. It's changed so much of what we typically know to do and how to be. Strangely, the same could be said of the upcoming election. By themselves the pandemic and election are hard enough to … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 21
September 21, 2020 by
Now And Today, September 21, 2020 A thread woven into threads. A fiber woven into fibers. A strand woven into strands. So many strands and fibers and threads that you can't tell one from another or this thousand from that thousand. They're a tangled mess. Your time and energy are nearly impossible to allocate into a tangled mess. You know you're expected to do something, yet you have no way … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 18
September 18, 2020 by
The doctor with a pen Now And Today, September 18, 2020 The following conversation is occurring all across the United States. Employer to employee. Friend to friend. Family to family. Person to person. Door knock. Or cell ring. Or message ping. Or Zoom call. Can we talk? Sure. My (child, other) is having real problems with (school, college, whatever). Can't concentrate. Isn't … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 17
September 17, 2020 by
Near the site of The New Era, Lancaster PA Now And Today, September 17, 2020 It just goes and goes and goes. Our pandemic. Where's the edge? I can't see it. Where's the end? I don't know. Where's the clarity? Good luck finding it. So you continue, the slog continues. You do your day the best you can. More masking, spacing, and limited face-to-facing. If you have anyone in any form of … [Read more...]
If History Rhymes: The Poem Of Warren Biden
September 10, 2020 by
Don't freak out. Just give me a minute or two. How it happened no one really knows. Somewhere along the line Mark Twain scooped up the credit as writer and speaker of one of the best quotes ever uttered about the past and history. History may not repeat—Twain is supposed to have said—but it sure does rhyme. Great stuff. And so very true when you think about the passage of time on a scale … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 8
September 8, 2020 by
W.E.B. Du Bois Now and Today, September 8, 2020 The numbers of coronavirus are sobering but not awful. They're far more than we'd ever want but slowly going downward, the absolute right direction. Those of us with anyone of a school age—from pre-school to graduate school—can describe the disruptions to daily life and near-term future of a pandemic in Wave Two. That's a feeling and a fact of … [Read more...]
Wave Two–From 2020 To 1918: September 7
September 7, 2020 by
Camp Devens Now and Today, September 7, 2020. It's our holiday, Labor Day. In a normal year we take time off from work and school, at least most of us. We say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. It feels like the trip to the lake or the beach is the last of the season, even when it's not. And in the usual cycle of every fourth year, the political among us know that the presidential campaign … [Read more...]
