Daily writing prompt

What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

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Honestly, a couple of million dollars. That would ease certain burdens and take a few chronic worries off the table.

Taking a step back from that pipedream, I’d have to say the gift of a new mindset. I don’t particularly like the one I currently have, and wish someone could give me a few tools to help me process my cynical and often dour outlook on the state of the world. I don’t compartmentalize very well, can’t understand how people even do that.

So… resilience, creativity, serenity, maybe a more robust sense of humor.

Daily writing prompt

What colleges have you attended?

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Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, MN, and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, in Gettysburg, PA.

Daily writing prompt

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

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Anytime the grandkids are around is playtime. They might all latch on to the same activity, or we can be going in multiple directions.

Other than that, the only thing I can think of is what has become an annual trip to the upper midwest, to spend a week with my brothers golfing and fishing. That’s playtime to me.

Well, that and yardwork, though yardwork may be its own category– not quite play, not quite work.

Daily writing prompt

What are your biggest challenges?

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Being hopeful. I’ve been accused of being a glass-half-empty guy. In my defense, the only way I might avoid the cynicism and skepticism is by living in a cave the rest of my days. It’s difficult to check the newsfeeds and not be at least a little worried about our future as a species. And closer in, as a USA.

Keeping busy. While I don’t put a lot of stock in resolutions and “having a plan,” whatever that might mean, I do see the wisdom in finding ways to be useful and occasionally productive.

Being present for others, one in particular. Since retirement, and before, my tendency has been to be immersed in my own issues and challenges and perceptions. Despite what I said a couple days ago about the grandkids being the relationship I value the highest, it is and always has been my marriage and the state it is in that most influences the way I feel about things and the person I bring to the table.

Being less risk-averse. It won’t ever be anything outlandish, and I’ve played my whole life pretty close to the vest and conservatively. At this point in the proceedings, that probably won’t change much. But maybe there’s still time to let the freak flag fly, on occasion.

Daily writing prompt

What makes you feel nostalgic?

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Turning 70. I know it’s just a number, but this one has my attention, for some reason.

Besides that, there are any number of triggers– certain songs and Christmas carols, the smell of wood smoke in winter, the smell of a humidity-laden breeze out of the south, the smell of certain foods cooking, pictures on the digital frame or an old photo album I get distracted by when I’m cleaning out a box in the basement; most any conversation with a college friend.

Then there’s the concoction of smells of civilization– a mix of fried food, cigar and cigarette smoke, exhaust from a vehicle without a catalytic converter.

These things, and just about any Zoom call, lately, with my brothers. There’s a lot of reminiscing going on, at times.

Daily writing prompt

What relationships have a positive impact on you?

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Another prompt that’s given me pause. I’d say the relationship with my wife, on occasion; the relationship with our children, my siblings– especially my brothers, and now the one with our grandchildren.

I think it’s the one with the grandchildren that stands out, currently. The reasoning is partly selfish. I want them to have good memories of me, so I’m one who tries not to talk down to them, who gets on the floor and plays with the toy trucks and gives them horsey rides and runs around outside and in general acts like someone not my age. They bring out the kid in me, and that role feels quite natural. I’m both exhausted and exhilarated by their energy levels, taken with their authenticity, moved by how much of life they’re seeing and dealing with for the first time. And as much as I don’t look forward, sometimes, to keeping up with them and looking after them, I walk away from most encounters feeling like it has been time well spent, like I really couldn’t be anywhere else.

I have few non-family relationships I’d call friendships, except for one or two from college days fifty years ago. And those are still important to me.

Daily writing prompt

How have your political views changed over time?

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They changed significantly and for good, during my years as a pastor.

For most of my voting life, I considered myself an Independent, voting for whoever appealed to me and seemed like the wise choice. But my time in the ministry provided a window on the human condition that I would not have gotten otherwise, and with this came a shift in perspective. I began paying closer attention to responsiveness to need, to the way we treat each other, to the way candidates speak and what they say– blatantly and between the lines– with regard to what they truly care about.

I’ve since begun to question religious faith in general, but certain values remain, and my ballot choices are heavily weighted in one direction anymore.

Daily writing prompt

You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?

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A cozy place for my stuff. A well-insulated nook with a door and a view. Not necessarily free standing, with a couple of comfortable chairs, a small table, and decent lighting. A window or two, a mini fridge, a Bluetooth speaker, heated and air conditioned. Simple, uncluttered, but not Spartan.

Daily writing prompt

What is your all time favorite automobile?

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Just about anything from Toyota. They’ve made consistently dependable vehicles for a long time. Not necessarily the most stylish, I guess, but that has never mattered to me. They’re stylish enough. Their dependability more than makes up for any lack of pizazz.

Daily writing prompt

How are you creative?

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Another tough one. I don’t feel that I’m all that creative. I think the closest I come is when I’m sitting at the piano and stumble on a tuneful riff using my rudimentary knowledge of chords and chord structure.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, and creativity might be something born of desire and opportunity. But I also believe there’s something magical about it, that real creativity can’t be forced or manufactured. It magically flows. It’s organic. People are born with something extra, with proclivities and inclinations and curiosity in search of expression or a catalyst. Solutions in hand or mind, searching for problems to be solved or beauty to be revealed.

This isn’t to say that we can’t learn to do things, to refine a craft– whether it’s writing or drawing or dribbling a football. In the extreme, I guess I’m imagining that a group of people can’t sit down at a table and just say, “Let’s be creative.” There might be a bit of synergy, something spontaneous, but I’m thinking more along the lines of a Da VInci or Jobs or Chopin.