Jamie Rubin’s recent post about his social media profile spurred me to respond to him via email, and I am sharing it here as a way of thinking out loud. I should also say that the text below is a bit unvarnished, pretty much as I wrote it.

There are times in life when one thing leads to another and before you know it, there are butterflies everywhere. Such is the state of our household these days as we work through a series of unintended projects with unintended results. As a retired project manager, I must say it can feel humbling. The Wikipedia definition of “butterfly effect” seems to fit perfectly.

A good friend and I teamed up for a road trip through southern Utah and Colorado, to see and photograph Monument Valley and the Fall colors of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Five days, lots of miles, and coincidentally, a lot of BBQ brisket and peach cobbler. So much so that we named the trip our Monumental Adventure: The Brisket and Peach Cobbler Tour. So yeah, we had a blast.

Harold Holzer presents an excellent unveiling and exposition of Lincoln’s address in Mahattan that set his course as the future president. In my opinion, it is Lincoln’s finest speech, his Second Inaugural Speech and the Gettysburg Address included, although it is hard to put paper between the three. Gettysburg and the second inaugural were perfect for their moment, Cooper Union for its purpose, precision, and power.

For most of my life, beginning with my paper route days as a 6th grader, I’ve been a news hound. Current events, geopolitical goings on, and history have always been of deep interest to me. I devoured newspapers, journals, and watched news shows religiously, including weekend talk shows and panels. That has changed radically in the last few years. I now make it a point to avoid broadcast news in all of its forms as conscientiously as I once pursued them.

Favorite reads and listens from the last two months. Topics include leaders, meritocracy, geopolitics, youth mental health, the art of reflection, and the future of baseball.

It seems inappropriate that something as small as a mosquito should have such a large influence on the quality of life, especially in the summer when the best times are to be had in the great outdoors. And yet, they sometimes do.