Author Archives: BigBill

About BigBill

Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.

“I cannot live without books” (Thomas Jefferson to John Adams)

I love books. I also love to read, but the two are not necessarily the same thing. Reading is for pleasure, to educate and inform myself, to “listen” to other people’s perspectives and to give me something to think about … Continue reading

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An examined life: The Good Life

The movie Saving Private Ryan opens and closes with a scene set in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial overlooking Omaha Beach. In front of Captain John Miller’s grave marker (the man played by Tom Hanks in the movie), Ryan … Continue reading

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An examined life (part 3)

I’ve already noted that the process of examining one’s life is more than figuring out who you are, but of determining the “ideal you.” Once the ideal is established, a critical examination of who you actually are in comparison to who … Continue reading

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An examined life (Part 2)

So what exactly does it mean, to “examine one’s life”? As I’ve mentioned in these posts, what brought this to my attention so forcefully was the death of my friend Mike Katke a little over two weeks ago. There were … Continue reading

Posted in General commentary on the world as I see it..., Nutrition and eating, Religion and philosophy | Leave a comment

An examined life

Socrates is quoted by Plato as having said “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Over the last 10 days or so I’ve had the opportunity to think about this quite a bit. As the last couple of posts indicate, … Continue reading

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It’s a Facebook world!

It goes without saying (although I’m going to say it anyway!) that each generation looks at its own as the best. The most sophisticated, the most advanced, the greatest achievements, the best tools. The most modern. While this is true … Continue reading

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Ephemeral

Ephemeral (adjective) ephem•er•al \i-ˈfem-rəl,\ Lasting a very short time; transitory While all relationships, and indeed life itself, is transitory, it doesn’t have to be that all relationships last for a very short time. Of course everything is relative, but circumstances … Continue reading

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Drifting apart

My friend Mike Katke was killed in a motorcycle accident last week. He had finished up a sales meeting in Denver and rented a Harley to relax, unwind and enjoy a beautiful summer ride with his girlfriend Angel. I don’t … Continue reading

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What do they really believe?

The next president won’t be selected until nearly 15 months from now, but the process is already in full swing. We’re here in August of 2015 and there’s a phalanx of Republican Presidential Candidate Wannabes; 17 serious candidates at last … Continue reading

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Hello again; I’m back!

It’s been nearly a year since I posted anything. A lot has happened in this past year, so it’s not for any lack of material that I’ve not written anything. For one thing, Mom passed away just before memorial day … Continue reading

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