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Calvin and Hobbes

This reminds me of Marlo Thomas’s Free to Be… You and Me album from 1972. One of the songs was based on the poem “Helping” by Shel Silverstein, and it ended with,

Some kind of help is the kind of help that helping’s all about.
And some kind of help is the kind of help we all can do without.

We’ve used those lines more than once over the years.

I also remember two more sentences from the album, again based on a
Shel Silverstein piece. This one was about a bossy little lady who always insisted on going first, including when a hungry tiger was choosing whom to eat. It ended with,

And so she was. And mighty tasty too.

That one doesn’t come up as often, but I still laugh every time I think of it.

Do you have any memories like that?

February 17, 2026

Pickles

When I saw this comic I immediately thought of a quote I read almost 40 years ago:

I’ve never been lost, but I was mighty turned around for three days once.
–Daniel Boone

Why did I think of it so quickly after all these years? Has your memory every surprised and delighted you?

February 16, 2026

Both the bean plant

Almost 4 months old

and the balloon

8 weeks old

are still struggling. I’m amazed they haven’t given up yet.

I’m going to keep them until they do.

I can’t imagine why I identify with them so much. 😀

February 15, 2026

Happy Valentine’s Day, but this isn’t about romantic love, it’s about people countering all the cruelty and destruction going on in the world by focusing on love and connection.

I haven’t watched the Super Bowl in years, and when I did in the past I never watched the half time shows. But I was touched by this image of the billboard, so I read more about the Bad Bunny program afterwards. It makes me happy that it was an outstanding success — it gives me hope that maybe the hatred and destruction won’t win in the end.

And, of course, there was the quiet Buddhist Walk for Peace with its little dog Aloka. As the leader said, it wasn’t a protest… “just a reminder that hope still exists.”

So hurray for love, and for kindness and compassion. All is not lost.

February 14, 2026

Calvin and Hobbes

I’m not like Calvin, I usually try avoid physical risks — and I don’t think the alternative is “stupefying security.” However….

For the first time in my life I bought a really sharp chef’s knife. I’ve wanted one for years.

It cuts vegetables like a dream and I love it. On the other hand….

I’ll let you know if I cut myself — feel free to say “I told you so.”

February 13, 2026

I went to Natural Grocers today to get some yogurt and fresh vegetables. As I was getting my cart I noticed the sign,

Registers are down, cash only.

Oops! I started pushing my cart back and noticed a women who works there. I said,

So, no credit cards.

She said,

Credit cards are all right, cash and credit cards. No debit cards.

I’m glad I said something!

February 13, 2026

Do you have your birth certificate or passport? Andy has his birth certifcate in our safe deposit box, but I have only a baptism certificate. When I first applied for a passport 66 years ago that’s all my folks had for me — I can’t remember why we couldn’t get my birth certificate from the county where I was born, but proof of baptism was all I needed at the time. Then in 1964 I married Andy and we immediately went to France for 13 months. There I went to the American embassy with my marriage license and had the name on my passport changed.

Ever since then Andy and I have renewed our passports before they expired. We were impressed this last December how easy the renewal process is now — we could do it online and received our new ones in about a month.

We have no intention of traveling, especially out of the country, but we do think it prudent in this day and age to have proof of citizenship.

What about you? Do you have your birth certificate or a passport? Do you think it’s a wise thing to have?

February 11, 2026

My latest doggie fix:

Our lease says that huskies are one of the restricted breeds — we couldn’t have a pup that had 50% or more of their genes. We agree — they are not made to live in apartments.

Things your husky knows about you:

Hurray for the internet and my doggie fixes.

Jury Update:. Andy received this email yesterday:

Your request to be excused from jury service has been reviewed and granted. You have been excused from the term of service for which you were summoned.

Thank you

We expected it, but it’s still a good feeling to get it.

February 10, 2026

This is from a post by Angus in Scotland:

The cutest little Eider duckling has been blown up into the courtyard by the gales. For a moment we think it’s a puffin. Down on the shore the Eider mothers are braving the waves and paddling back and forth along the shoreline looking for it. The wee thing has opted to shelter under the car . This is out of the wind but frustratingly just out of reach. The Waitrose driver ( an early era Syrian refugee who now speaks with a Scots accent straight out of central casting ) choses this moment to drive into the courtyard and drop off ‘The Font’s’ monthly komboucha order. He sees me kneeling on all fours and asks if he can help. If we don’t do something the chick will starve. He gets down on the ground , stretches his arms, picks the chick up and then carefully carries the wee thing down to join its siblings on the beach. The Eider mothers watch him. To our surprise it is soon reunited. Interfering with nature is always a damned if you do, damned if you don’t affair. For the last seventeen years the kindness of people has been a staple of this blog. This is the latest example. The driver must have taken a good fifteen minutes out of his schedule. The Syrian refugee likes to stop out here in his lunch break to have his ‘piece’. Sometimes he brings his children with him. He is a gentle man.

A powerful reminder of what I care about.

February 9, 2026

With all the cruelty and nastiness going on in the world is it frivolous to play? Kurt Vonnegut would say it’s feeding our soul — is that too self-centered/selfish? Hugh Prather asked this question years ago in his How to Live in This World and Still Be Happy. His conclusion: No, it isn’t selfish to be happy. It was the only way he knew to be kind.

I think Thich Nhat Hahn would agree with that. Here’s a story he told:

A Buddhist monk asked his students a question, “If you’re carrying a cup of coffee and someone bumps into you, why did you spill the coffee?”

Each and every one of his students said because someone bumped into me.

“No, the reason why you spilled the coffee is because that’s what you were carrying in your cup. If you were carrying water, you would have spilled water.”

Then he said something profound.

“Whenever life shakes you, whatever you’re carrying is going to spill out. So if you’re carrying fear, jealousy, anger, greed, that’s what’s going to spill out. But if you’re carrying love, compassion, kindness, empathy, that’s what’s going to spill out.

Each and every day, you should pause and think to yourself, What am I carrying in my cup today?”

February 8, 2026