#367

Megan came to work with me Friday. Michael joins me too, on occasion. I love that they love to visit; they leave a mark on the place for me, memories, fun moments at work with them. This is good; it's where I spend tens of hours every week. It reveals one of my flaws: I don't compartmentalize the focuses and forces in my life well. They all run together. Maybe it's common, maybe it's a strength; I don't know; there's only one mind I'm truly inside of, truly privy to, and it's my own, my own thinking, sensitivites, awarenesses; this is the primary and primal burden and blessing of being human. We are pilots, captains of precisely one craft, our own. We're among a sea of other vessels, of course. Do we navigate kindly, play well with others? Do we race, compete, collaborate, cruise? Where are we all headed anyway? Sadly, I know the press, the media, would prefer you believe everyone else is a battleship, and every day is either the America's Cup or the Battle of Midway.

So M 'n' m and I enjoy my office together, the techno- goodies and labs, and the incredible city around, above, and below us, glass towers, steel and concrete, the Chicago river, trains, traffic, streams of people, countless storefronts and restaurants, efforts and energies of every kind.

Yesterday, M 'n' m and I drove to Branson, Missouri. Long drive from Chicago, but it's worth it for baseball! Michael's season-ending tournament. I've never been here; reminds me of Wisconsin Dells. Michael stays with the team in a cool barracks-like complex surrounded by fields. So Meg and I are roommates at the Marriott. So far, so good, but we both had noxious gas last night. Caused a little tension. Papa Mike joins us tonight. Life is good. (And the gas war will surely escalate with a third and formidable entrant. Megan's no slouch, by the way. She isn't out-gunned by any stretch. And she started it.)

"Learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what to think."
     — David Foster Wallace

"Yet in an age of ceaseless sensationalism, pseudoscience, and a relentless race for shortcuts, quick answers, and silver bullets, knowing what to think seems increasingly challenging."
     — Maria Popova