Welcome to our collection of random articles, essays, braindrops and whimsy. You can pick a category or see our most recent offerings, which may not be very recent, below the categories.

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The Almost Bike Trailer
Nora and I are going bike the Katy Trail in Missouri in June. 250 miles more or less in 7 days more or less. As we’ve been preparing for it, I’ve been a bit concerned that we might not be able to put all...
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The Katy Trail Day 4
Boonville was gray first thing, and the forecast was gloomy. I love lightning and thunder and rain, but I prefer it on the back porch with hot chocolate instead of on a bicycle. That’s the only reason...
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The Katy Trail Day 3
The Katy Trail Day 3 Our mileage is increasing. 34 today. Or 35. We’re not sure, although as tightly as we count our miles, one would think we’d know. It’s just that the GPS sometimes gets even more...
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The Katy Trail Day 2
We lingered in the morning, in no rush. Once packed up, we went to a café for a breakfast that included a piece of pie apiece, made (according to the waitress) by the Amish. If that’s true, the Amish are...
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Katy Trail, Day 1
It’s not easy to define when a trip starts. When we first think of it? When we start Googling it? When our first piece of equipment lands on our doorstep and we go back to Amazon to find out how to return...
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The Organist -- April 24, 2024
Sometimes we just get lucky. Looking through a very long list of possible things to do in our last week in Budapest, I came across ads for an organ concert at St. Stephen’s Basilica. It sounded interesting...
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Budapest Segway Tour - April 23, 2024
I’ve wanted to ride a Segway for a long time. I mean, for a long time I’ve wanted to ride a Segway. Since I hadn’t done it, I had no idea if I’d want to ride one for a long time. We got our chance when...
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Memento Park - April 20, 2024
It’s a question that has certainly plagued more than one country: What do we do with statues and plaques that are part of a history we do not want to honor? Hungary has a tortured past, both literally...
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The Gulyas Party - April 18, 2024
The text message was brief: “On Thursday evening Gulyas Party at 7:00 pm on the 6th floor. No formal dressing is required.” That would be the 6th floor of a building in Budapest overlooking the Danube,...
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A Day of Remembrance - April 17, 2024
We decided to put some effort into local attractions today. Attractions meaning what guidebooks highlight as attractions. So… The Jewish Synagogue and The House of Terrors. Both, of course, housed terrors. Mistaking...