Incrementalism

Attitudes change over time. Beware of the lightning conversion experience, the sudden flash of enlightenment, and the born-again felon/politician/celebrity who is ready to move on and put this all behind him/her.

Bodies grow, develop, strengthen, and mature gradually. Bodies also age, slow down, weaken, and deteriorate gradually. That growth spurt in adolescence or health crisis after retirement might have been building for some time.

Trees have growth rings, some thicker or thinner than others, reflecting the rate at which new xylem and phloem cells add themselves to the vascular structure of the trunk or branch.

People develop new habits and skills little by little. They don't rid themselves of old behavior by swearing it off, going cold turkey, or putting themselves in the hands of a higher power, although any of those courageous acts might be a step in the right direction, followed by practice, practice, practice.

Healing happens cell by cell.

If I learn anything from reciting this set of facts, I will learn it in the same manner, slowly.

Mulligans league founder retires

A nice article appeared on page 9A of the Crossville Chronicle, Friday, September 24, and the clipping eventually found its way into my hands. I would provide a link to it here, but the Chronicle doesn't make back issues accessible on the web, so I'm taking the liberty of posting excerpts.

Charles "Charlie" Duncanson, leader of the Fairfield Glade Mulligans Golf League, has retired after 19 years of dedicated service. As the founder and as the league's organizer, Duncanson has approached his duties (with) a zest for success, just as he's done in (other) aspects of his life.

If you happen to know my Dad, you are aware that references to dedicated service, being a natural and gifted organizer, and zest for success are understatements, and that understatement is his style. But I digress.

There are now 32 members and countless subs who will definitely miss having this gentleman at the helm, but they were happy to learn that he'll still be golfing with them occasionally.

Duncanson revealed his secret to keeping all of those accurate schedules and records for which he was known. Every meticulous bit of information was handwritten by Duncanson, who has never relied on a computer for assistance.

I can testify that Dad would spend some time every day at his desk in a nook off the kitchen, updating the scores, standings, averages, dues, and upcoming pairings of every team in the Monday morning golf league. Again, meticulous and accurate do not begin to describe the discipline and care with which he accounted for every stroke, every tee time, and every dollar of every golfer in every foursome on every Monday. He could also shoot his age for 18 holes.

In his youth, recognition as a multi-sport athlete earned him letters in baseball, football, basketball and track during his collegiate career at Winona State University.

...Duncanson served two years in the U.S. Navy, and then two and a half years in the U.S. Air Force. He taught aviation maintenance and repair in both branches of the service, after which he launched a successful 35-year career in the insurance business....

An appreciation luncheon honoring Duncanson was held Sept. 7 at the Phil-ing Station. Mulligan members summed up their feelings with a heartfelt statement, "To know Charlie is to love the man."

My heroes: Allen and Violet Large

When they won ten million dollars in the lottery, they gave away $9,800,000 of it, according to the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Are these Canucks plain loony? Or do they know something the rest of us don't?

He is 75 years old and she is 78. He worked as a welder in Ontario for 30 years before retiring to Nova Scotia. She worked for cosmetics and chocolate companies. They have an old house that they like.

She was being treated for cancer on July 14 when they hit the lotto. She underwent her final chemotherapy treatments a week ago. It took them about a week to figure out what to do with all that money.

The Larges donated their winnings to the local fire department, churches, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the hospitals in Truru and Halifax where Violet received treatment. Some of it went to family members. They said they felt fortunate to be able to help. "It made us feel good," said Violet. "And there’s so much good being done with that money."

Steal This Education [but Buy This Article]

[Headline teaser in the Chronicle of Higher Education]

Abbie Hoffman said a revolutionary's first duty was to get away with it. Now you can.

[Byline]

By Dalton Conley

[Snarky lead paragraph]

It turns out that the yippie activist Abbie Hoffman was born a few decades too early. In his 1971 counterculture classic, Steal This Book, he devoted considerable space to discussing how to live for free. He provided survival tips, such as how to take advantage of furniture pick-up day in your neighborhood, how to Dumpster dive, and how to enroll for food stamps or for clinics to get a venereal disease cured gratis. But Hoffman went beyond that: He counseled the reader on how to get

[Rude awakening to unsuspecting reader]

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[Hint: It's yet another self-serving article about the wonders of online courses. Wouldn't Abbie be proud? I doubt it.]