December 13, 2021
Good morning! We enjoyed about 5″ of freshly-fallen snow a couple days ago; not far from here the enjoyment was four or five fold that amount. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is coming to the silver screen Christmas day; whatever would the Bard think? Directed by none other than Joel Coen, it will star Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand of Fargo fame. It’s rumored there are no wood chippers used in Coen’s version of this epic story.
- Bob Dole of Kansas died last week at age 98.
- He was interviewed recently and said his goal was to make it to his 100th birthday celebration, for which plans were already underway.
- A bellwether member of the so-called Greatest Generation, Bob’s vision, unselfish service, courage, and self-deprecating humor will be greatly missed.
- The long, ugly, gnarly talons of death reached into the center of our family late last week to claim one of ours for the COVIDs.
- May she rest in peace: Martha Mullin of Bristol, TN — spouse of my oldest brother.
- They were married in 1969 shortly after his return from a year of active duty in Viet Nam; at present, he, too, is fighting the COVIDs plague.
- It is said the midwest does not experience the economic volatility of some areas of the United States.
- Here in Central Minnesota we are blessed to have had — for nearly two decades — the erudite gifts of a local economist, King Banaian, and his sidekick, Rich MacDonald.
- Together, along with the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation, they have provided us with useful economic data unique to our area.
- The data are fascinating, interesting, focused, and instructive — derived from research conducted with and among local sources.
- The Q2021 data are hot off the press.
- For example, about thirty-five percent (35%) of workers are working from home (teleworking) at least one day a week, down from 45% just six months ago.
- The overall outlook is somewhat optimistic as cautious eyes and ears watch and listen for the consequences of a shortage of workers and interruptions in the supply chain.
Remote Work
- The topic of so-called teleworking (not going to the office or a work space to perform work) is a major topic of discussion nationally — and perhaps internationally.
- Are we on the verge of another transformational era regarding the way in which we work — or the way in which we do our work?
- Raise your hand if you’re quite tired of ZOOMs but still find them helpful, useful, and efficient.
- In a 2004 paper by a Hungarian author, the first six (6) transformations in human history are suggested:
- Fire — Language — Agriculture — Civilization — European Conquests — Scientific/ Technological (Takacs-Santa, 2004)
- (Curiously, he does not include the so-called industrial revolution as a transformational era per se, but rather groups the entire last ~200 years together.)
- A recent CBS news segment on Jill Biden made me think about my good friend, Peg Marrin, from Dallas, TX — originally from Central Minnesota and still with deep roots here.
- Like Jill, Peg has dedicated her professional career to literacy and its penumbra.
- Peg has turned her lifelong passion into a clever and instructive children’s book, Make Your Mark, just published.
- Her niece, Sarah Rice, has helped the story come to life with twenty-seven original, colorful, playful, Caldecott-worthy illustrations.
- Sarah’s best work is either page #7 or page #9… YOU can help break the tie.
- Making your mark in Peg’s story — told through the experience of a young anthropomorphic chicken, his Mama, and others in the barnyard — is about learning to write (and read) and about the almost infinite and wonderful world to which literacy is the portal.
- As Peg writes on the final page of the story after Chicken learns to write his name, “The Beginning”
- Buy yourself a copy — or two or three.
- “To a child who cannot read, the letter A is three sticks.” (Milne)
- When did gnomes become as ubiquitous a seasonal decoration as the conifer tree, wreaths, lights, candles, elves, a star, Rudolph, Mr. Frosty, and angels?
