adventurerliberated

A moral question

“Where were you when your father needed you?” is something my mother has asked me full of venom almost every time we have talked since my father’s death two & a half years ago — which is one of the reasons why the times we talk are so few and far between. Where was myContinue reading “A moral question”

“Defend institutions”

“It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of ‘our institutions’ unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose an institution you careContinue reading ““Defend institutions””

Fueled by pain

It’s been a few months now, maybe six or so, that I have found my old energy levels again, those high energy levels that are usually typical of me, that had been my companion for most of my life. In many ways, it feels good. It feels good because I can finally recognize myself again,Continue reading “Fueled by pain”

Voting is like loving: vital, and not to be taken for granted

“ The hero of a David Lodge novel says that you don’t know, when you make love for the last time, that you are making love for the last time. Voting is like that. ” This quote from the book “On Tyranny” by Timothy Snyder is maybe the one that strikes me the most, theContinue reading “Voting is like loving: vital, and not to be taken for granted”

“Be wary of paramilitaries”

Quoting from Lesson #6 in the book “On Tyranny — Twenty lessons from the twentieth century” by Timothy Snyder (published in 2017): “ When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh. When theContinue reading ““Be wary of paramilitaries””

“The ICE test”

Quoting from The Economist, Jan. 31st 2026: “ Is America’s president building his own paramilitary militia? America stared into the void this week, but pulled back. Federal action in the streets of Minneapolis goes well beyond immigration. It is a test of the government’s power to use violence against its own citizens — a dividing-lineContinue reading ““The ICE test””

“Are you dead?” — On Loneliness

Interviewer: “Where did the idea for Eleanor Oliphant come from?” Author (Gail Honeyman): “Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine started with two related ideas. The first was loneliness, an issue that’s now thankfully starting to receive more attention as we begin to understand more about its often devastating consequences. I remembered reading an article in whichContinue reading ““Are you dead?” — On Loneliness”

“America’s Paramilitary Peril”

From The Economist cover/front page 02/02/26.

My full moon hike

For a large part of my life, I’ve enjoyed doing fun and/or adventurous activities on nights with the full moon: sailing, skiing, swimming in the sea back Europe, hiking, or long walks at the beach along the ocean in California. Since moving to Colorado I had only gone for a few full moon walks inContinue reading “My full moon hike”

Not “man enough”?

“Did you know I was trans?”, I ask the gay climber as we hike in the first full moon of the new year. “I assumed you might be from something you said to M. at dinner the other night but otherwise I wouldn’t have known”, he replies, then adding, “And anyway, I don’t care whatContinue reading “Not “man enough”?”