Tag: childhood

I’ve carried a pocket knife since I was 8 years old, or younger. We played mumbly peg , made willow whistles, carved spears, cut string, twine, rope, whittled whatever. Here’s a very useful Pocket Knife Guide – A Gentleman’s tool. TweetFacebookLinkedInTumblrStumbleDiggDelicious

When I was a kid we had a 6-foot square ice fishing shack made out of the same insulation board that was used as sheathing on new houses in those days. We left the shack out on the frozen river all winter long. Sawdust covered the ice as a floor. There was a little oil-burning […]

William Morris [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

This is what I think I am: Good, honest, fair, peaceful, loving, helpful, trusting, euphoric, joyful, accepting, generous, forgiving, and more. This is what everyone is, at the core. Why, then, is there so much chaos in the world, so much evil, so much crap when it comes to human behavior? I suggest that it’s […]

Two-bit Guru | Folded Paper | Photo of a folded piece of paper.

When I was a kid, it was common practice to tear an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper from a notebook and with a #2 pencil make lists, sketches, notes, play hangman, slip messages to our friends. We traveled light in those days, no backpacks, only shirt pockets, jeans pockets, coat pockets, and […]

When I was 15 years old, I often hung out at the local bowling alley, even during my school lunch hour. Sometimes I bowled a couple of lines. I was no more than a beginning bowler but one day I had an exceptional experience, and I’d bet that you’ve had at least one such experience […]

Two-bit Guru | Setting Clocks Back |

“You might be able to save your pennies in a coffee can, but there ain’t no dang way you’re going to save daylight, no where, no place, no time, no how.” ~Two-bit guru~ As a child I was told that daylight saving time was invented so that the farmers could work longer into the evening, […]

Two-bit Guru | Imaginary Ghosts | Person in a sheet dressed up as a ghost.

Maybe the Halloween season brought this thought to me: I carried around imaginary ghosts in my head for a long time. You might have some in your head, too. My ghosts remind me that the way I’m doing something isn’t the way my cousin Hans would have done it. If I was able to share […]

Two-bit Guru | Learning by Giving | Photo of a bouquet of flowers

I have long searched for one word that would define the ideal purpose of human beings on this earth. It’s likely that at different stages of life we would embrace different words. When we’re younger, Sex might be the word, while at 90 it might not. “Success” would apply to some, “worship” for others, and […]

Two-bit Guru | Leave Fear Behind | Photo of raspberry leaves that have been eaten by Japanese Beatles

“Some sages say we should leave fear behind but I’d rather have it right out there in front of me where I can keep an eye on it” ~Two-bit Guru~ About a year ago, I wrote about Japanese beetles among the raspberries and contemplated making peace with them by accepting their existence as being as […]

Two-bit Guru | Speaking to Plants | Photo of pak choy gone to seed

When I wrote about picking raspberries I realized that when I’m in the garden, or encouraging seedlings in the house in the spring for that matter, I spend much time speaking to the plants. I compliment the tomatoes on their abundance, and the pole beans on their lovely appearance. The raspberries themselves get a lot […]