James Bethel James Bethel

How not to get lost . . .

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

It's Odin's day . . . Strong Northerlies, mid 60's, sun and clouds mixed: Spring in Green Country and TulseyTown.

To live without roads seems one way not to get lost. – Naomi Shihab Nye

The Hindenburg disaster occurred today in 1937 Manchester Township, New Jersey.

The numbers are starting to come in. The grift and greed is staggering. – Heather Cox Richardson, in Letters From An American.

Thoughts and reflections for a younger generation. – Robert Reich, 5.5.26

Broadway's 2026 Tony Award nominees were announced yesterday.

The innovating motion-picture actor, director, producer, and writer Orson Welles was born on this day in 1915, Kenosha, Wisconsin. Welles wrote, directed, produced, and acted in several of his films, including that of Citizen Kane—one of the most-influential films in the history of the art.

George Clooney is 65 today. The laureate actor, filmmaker, director and screenwriter was born in 1961, Lexington, Kentucky.

Its the birthday of silent film matinee idol Rudolph Valentino, born in 1895, Castellaneta, Italy.

And, today is the birthdate of Sigmund Freud, born in 1856, Freiberg, Moravia, Austrian Empire [now Příbor, Czech Republic].

Fairytales, Metamorphosis, and Relational Ontologies. – Sophie Strand, Make Me Good Soil, 5.5.26.

Gate A-4

. . .

And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and I thought, This
is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in that
gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—seemed apprehensive about
any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too.

This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.

– Naomi Shihab Nye, “Gate A-4,” in Honeybee, Greenwillow Books, 2008.

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James Bethel James Bethel

True freedom . . .

Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Its' Tiw's day . . . Strong Northerlies and a chance for morning rain started the day in Green Country. After Noon the rain chances end and forecasts indicate clouds hanging around as wind chill drops to the 50's.

True freedom arises not in escape but in developing our natural capacity for presence, openness, and wholehearted acceptance. – Pema Chödrön, Another Kind of Freedom, Shambhala Press, 2026.

The revolutionary, sociologist, historian, and economist Karl Marx was born on this date in 1818, Trier, Rhine province, Germany.

Its the birthdate of Søren Kierkegaard. The recognized founder of existential philosophy was born in 1813, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The confidence — that the law cannot reach you because you are the one wielding it — is the oldest and most dangerous delusion in Washington. It’s the delusion under which Todd Blanche and Trump are now seemingly operating. – Miles Taylor, Defiance, 5.4.26

You can't gerrymander $5-a-gallon gasoline. — Mat Kerbel, in Wolves and Sheep, 5.4.26.

Today is the birthdate of journalist Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in 1864 Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.

Matinee idol Tyrone Power was born on this day in 1914, Cincinnati, Ohio.

One of the first female country artists to record songs told from a woman’s perspective, Tammy Wynette was born in 1942, Itawamba county, Mississippi.

Adele turns 37 today.

And, Today is Cinco de Mayo, the Fifth of May, with celebrations that began as commemorating the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The celebrations embracing Mexican culture generally have grown world wide.

Hello, California dream

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James Bethel James Bethel

Shattering thought . . .

Monday, May 4, 2026. It's the Moon's day . . . and the Flower Moon is waning. Strong, gusty Southerlies are to bring a mix of clouds and sun to Green Country today. A touch cooler – by about 2 degrees – from yesterday. Mid 80's this afternoon in TulseyTown.

A flood of memories. – Robert Reich on substack 5.4.26

Today is the 56th anniversary in 1970 of the Kent State shooting of unarmed college students at Kent State University,

It's the birthdate of Horace Mann, born in 1796 Franklin, Massachusetts. He was a great advocate of free, universal public education,

The person responsible for much of what we know about the vitamins in food, Agnes Fay Morgan, was born on this day in in 1884 Peoria, Illinois.

And, Audrey Hepburn was born today in 1929 Brussels, Belgium. She was one of only a few entertainers who won competitive Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.

Heather Cox Richardson in Letters From An American reports Trump is afraid he'll be impeached.


‍ ‍ &

He divides us / scatters us in the sea / and rejoins us. /

Each drop / one with the shoreless One. /

His arithmetic, his algebra/ always yields the same result /

one and only One / a marvel shattering thought.

– Rumi “Tomorrow I'll visit Love's tailor,” in Water, Haleh Liza Gaforia, The New York Review of Books, 2025.

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