Thus Spoke Ginger

Thus Ginger Spoke

I began my adult life going down my yellow brick road when I returned from studying overseas at New College of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. I got a job and the very next thing that I got was an Irish Setter, and her name was Ginger. Over the next handful of years, my three children came along. Ginger literally helped them to toddle their way down their long yellow brick roads of their lives.

Nearly fifty years later, I am still journeying on my yellow brick road, but the road has entered the twilight years of my life. In the past decade, I have danced with death twice and both times successfully. I've had a couple other dances, which weren't life-threatening. Nevertheless, dancing with death caused me to realize that the remainder of my journey is limited. Therefore, I took seriously these two recent concerns. I went to my internist who did dozens of tests and found out that neither would result in ending my journey in life.

The very next thing that I did was to get an Irish Setter puppy. Guess what her name is? Man, my new puppy brought back a flood of many memories. However, this Ginger is different, or, perhaps, I am more in tune and listen to my newest Ginger more than I did a half century ago with my first Ginger. My new puppy has a bed where she plays with her toys, but, more importantly, Ginger watches me while I teach online or as I write essays for my webpage.

Ginger in her bed

One day, I heard what sounded initially like purring. I turned toward Ginger, and she began to talk. Ginger wanted to talk about the political issues that interested me. She said that Nietzsche wrote a book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which is the English title of the Nietzsche's German title, Also sprach Zarathustra. Ginger sees herself as a modern-day version of Nietzsche. Ginger suggested that I used that as the title for this index page, Thus Spoke Ginger. Additionally, she suggested that I write about her observations on life in this newest section.

Ti Ti and Her Smile... Ti Ti and Her Smile... What a Gift 10/24/25
The Issue of Paying Homage The Issue of Paying Homage It's a Two-way Street 10/17/25
The Haunting Question The Haunting Question Do You See You? 09/17/25
A Day Laborer Toiling in the Hot Sun A Day Laborer Toiling in the Hot Sun Who Fears ICE 08/01/25
Ginger’s Quirks Ginger’s Quirks With Her ADHD 07/16/25
The Silence Was Deafening The Silence Was Deafening When Ginger Wasn’t Underfoot 06/16/25
Groundhog Day: Essential Learning about Life Groundhog Day Essential Learning about Life 02/05/25
Legends Often Morph into Facts My Dog Named Ginger Pooh And Her Health Report 02/03/25
My Birthday Gift My Birthday Gift Who Is Happier? 01/17/25
Happy Birthday Ginger Happy Birthday Ginger She Turned Eight Today 10/28/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts The Virgin King Enjoying Life in Another World 09/20/24
A Funny Thing Happened To Me A Funny Thing Happened To Me As I Age, Not So Gracefully 09/16/24
The Cat Lady The Cat Lady By the Dog Gentleman 09/11/24
Ginger Has Done the Dance Ginger Has Done the Dance We Are Bonded as Dancers 08/21/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Lessons Learned in Former British Colonies Like America, South Africa, and Myanmar 07/31/24
The Third Old Man The Third Old Man Or Three Coins in the Fountain of Life 07/29/24
If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something If a Doctor Tells Me To Do Something Sometimes I Disobey 07/08/24
It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again With the Father and Son 07/05/24
I’m Leading Death Again I’m Leading Death Again On My Dancefloor of Life 06/10/24
I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance I Wonder Whether the Elk Did the Dance He Acted Like It 05/17/24
Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Ginger and I Have Done the Dance Each of Us Twice 05/15/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Trump’s Roosting Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost 05/01/24
Ginger Trains Her Owner Ginger Trains Her Owner And I’m Obedient 04/03/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Resurrecting the Quest of Men in Black Before the Election 03/13/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts It’s Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away 03/06/24
Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Ginger’s New Fashion Statement Keeping Her Happy and Healthy 03/04/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts It Was To Be a Short Phone Call But It Wasn’t 01/05/24
This Is a True Story... This Is a True Story... About Guts 01/03/24
Legends Often Morph into Facts Unexpected Events Can Create Opportunities for Greatness 12/25/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Gift to Dr. Derrè Ginger Stated, “Dr. Derrè’s My Vet” 12/01/23
Mary Had Little Lamb Mary Had Little Lamb And PaPa Al Has a Big Irish Setter 11/27/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts On the Road Again Ginger, the Pooh Dog, and Me 11/10/23
Ginger’s 7th Birthday Ginger’s 7th Birthday What’s Life All About, Alfie? 10/30/23
Legends Often Morph into Facts Ginger’s Check-Up Again, at Purdue Veterinary Hospital 10/04/23
My Second Shot My Second Shot Or the First Insurrection 09/22/23
The Importance of Happenstance The Importance of Happenstance For Heavenly Clauses 09/08/23
Another Dance for Ginger Another Dance for Ginger Learn and Live in the Moment 09/01/23
Ginger's Gifts Ginger’s Gifts From Michelle 08/25/23
St. Francis Expanded My Learning St. Francis Expanded My Learning At Many Levels 08/14/23
Ginger’s Tribute to Her Vet Ginger’s Tribute to Her Vet “Thanks, But Can You Get Me Bigger Treats?” 04/12/23
A Golden Opportunity A Golden Opportunity Explaining Ti Ti to her Class 04/10/23
What’s It All About Ginger? What’s It All About Ginger? The Haunting Question 04/03/23
Ginger and Poisoning Ginger and Poisoning A Sequel 03/15/23
Ginger and I Ginger and I Our Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road 03/13/23
Than Than Myanmar’s van Gogh 01/11/23
What Drove My Father and Drives Me? What Drove My Father and Drives Me? Pain 12/30/22
Only This and Nothing More “Only This and Nothing More” Quote the Raven 12/21/22
Problems are Assets Problems are Assets Seize the Problems 12/09/22
My Twilight Hauntings... My Twilight Hauntings... About Immortality 11/25/22
A Message from Missoula A Message from Missoula And the Dangling Dog 11/04/22
Ginger is Now Six Ginger is Now Six As We Do the Dance 10/28/22
Picking Mentors Will Change Your Life Picking Mentors It Will Change Your Life 09/09/22
“The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men….” Reset and Carry On 05/13/22
Diversity Visas What’s That All About, Alfie? 04/24/22
Acclimating to the New World In Mt. Lebanon, Taunggyi, and Crown Point 04/20/22
I Have Miles to Go Before I Sleep 04/04/22
My Family in Myanmar: A Sequel to What’s It All About 03/28/22
Two Views of the Ides of March One for Caesar and One for My Family 03/14/22
History Is Repetitious Then and Now 02/21/22
The Tale of My Foot Years Ago and Today 02/11/22
When I Become a Billionaire… A Jaguar SUV Will Be in My Garage 01/26/22
Christmas: Past, Present, and Future 12/24/21
A Sickness Too Took Root Everywhere 12/20/21
Waking Up… To Getting Old 11/29/21
Ginger and I In Our Recovery Modes 11/22/21
A New World Order The World from Campbell’s Perspective 11/01/21
Happy Birthday, Ginger I Wish You Many More with Your Blue Dolphin 10/29/21
What Ginger’s Dances Taught Me Despite My Dances 10/06/21
Ti Ti and Education Why Is Education Critical? 10/04/21
The Pros and Cons… Of Replicating Our Parents 09/06/21
Realizing the New Normal What’s All About, Alfie? 08/30/21
What Can We Learn from Art? The Answer Is…. 08/18/21
It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again For Ginger and Me 08/04/21
Ginger Doing the Dance And An Important Takeaway 07/28/21
Disinformation Is Deadly So, Why Lie to America? 07/19/21
Resurrection I’m Alive Along with My Computer, and Ginger 07/07/21
I Created an Artistic Masterpiece… For Ginger 07/02/21
One Year Hence Reincarnation of Gawain and the Fox 05/28/21
A Funny Thing Happened While on Zoom My Fourth La Danse Macabre 04/19/21
A Modafinil Moment…Revisited 11/20/20
Problems Are Catalysts for ChangeBut It Is Up to You 11/18/20
Dealing with RealityIn the Human and Canine World 09/18/20
The Story of Tom and JerryWhat’s in a Name? 09/02/20
Ginger and I Have Done the DanceAnd Are Alive 07/22/20
"Give Me a Place to Stand...And I Will Move the World.” 07/20/20
Plague DoctorThen and Now 04/06/20
GingerPart 3 of a 4 Part Series 02/05/20
KaylaDog Whisperer 02/03/20
My Home Looks Like the Uffizi GalleryPart 1 of 4 Parts 01/22/20
I Found Another Incarnation of Bo Bo GyiWhile on Inle Lake 01/15/20
Autotelic Vincent, Me, and Modafinil 09/27/19
What Fascinates Me About Ginger In Our Time Together 09/06/19
Ginger, King of the Mountain Taught Me a Lesson 07/24/19
Ginger’s Vet My Shrink 07/19/19
The Dog Days of Summer Without Air Conditioning 07/17/19
Nietzsche and Ginger Übermensch or ÜberGinger 05/27/19
My Dear Pooh Dog and Me The Bonding 04/29/19
Ginger, My Intelligent Dog… And Aerodynamics 12/24/18
From Mud To Macadam 11/30/18
Another Dinner and Date with Ginger On Election Night 11/09/18
Happy Birthday to My Ginger Pooh Who is Two 10/29/18
Ginger’s Vet… My Psychiatrist 10/17/18
The Woman in Green From Ginger’s Point of View 10/08/18
“Holy Mackerel” Thus Spoke Ginger 10/01/18
Ginger and Me Just the Two of Us 09/21/18
The Pearl of Death Or the Lesson of Life 09/05/18
The Invasion of the Sewer Snatchers They Are Coming to Take Our Sewers 09/03/18
Ginger Is the Love of My Life As Seen in Music That I Love 08/20/18
Deep State Bob Woodward and Me 08/15/18
Roger Stone and I What Do We Have in Common? 08/08/18
Parallels Between the Spider Woman and Me Money 07/27/18
It’s All Begins with Making My Bed— Which Ginger Unmakes 07/13/18
The House of fear - thumbnail The House of Fear And the Orange Pips 06/08/18
holmes-washington thumbnail Sherlock Holmes In Washington While We Drank Ginger Grog 04/04/18
holmes-death thumbnail Sherlock Holmes Faces Death The Times They Are Changin’ 03/07/18
heart-issues thumbnail My Heart Issues Both Hearts 02/14/18
water-horse thumbnail The Water Horse of Loch Ness And Our Water Horses of Life 02/07/18
dressed-kill thumbnail Dressed to Kill Ginger and I Watched Another Sherlock Holmes Mystery 01/29/18
terror-night thumbnail Terror by Night The Third of our Date and Dinner 01/08/18
gingers-world-2 thumbnail Ginger's World... Blends with My World 01/03/18
Scarlet Claw thumbnail The Scarlet Claw A Date Night Movie 12/18/17
Dreaming Dreams thumbnail Dreaming Dreams that Never Were... Asking Why Not. 12/15/17
Blue Eyes thumbnail Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain While Plowing 12/08/17
Ginger World thumbnail Ginger's World... Blends with My World 12/06/17
Why Ginger thumbnail Why Ginger? The Hauntings of My Pooh Dog 11/24/17
Sherlock Holmes Secret Weapon thumbnail Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon Watson and Ginger’s Roles 11/22/17
Edmund Fitzgerald thumbnail The Haunting of the Edmund Fitzgerald Doomed Before Setting Sail 11/17/17
Kepler Looking thumbnail What is Kepler Looking For? Intelligent Life in the Universe 11/15/17
Many Michelangelo thumbnail The Many Michelangelo Painters of the Cave The Renaissance of the Paleolithic Period 11/13/17
Tattoo of Pooh thumbnail The Tattoo of My Pooh and Me Ginger and Don Quixote 11/10/17
The Reason thumbnail The Reason Behind... Everything 11/08/17
Impulse Control thumbnail Impulse Control Ginger and Trump 10/23/17
Morning Mist thumbnail Morning Mist on the La Mancha Moor Learning About Love 10/18/17
Ginger Santayana thumbnail Ginger and Santayana Remember the Past 10/09/17
Ginger and I thumbnail Ginger and I Promises To Keep and Miles To Go Before We Sleep 09/29/17
Ginger Longshanks thumbnail Ginger AKA Longshanks 09/27/17
A Child Educated thumbnail “A Child Educated Only at School... Is An Uneducated Child.” 09/25/17
Mr. Lee thumbnail Mr. Lee and Mr. Rotteveel Two Stories: About When I Was Young and When I Am Old 09/22/17
Ginger and Ra Ra thumbnail Ginger and Ra Ra My Pet Family 09/18/17
Lammie Coo thumbnail Lammy Coo Was Crewed By Gingie Pooh 09/13/17
When Dreaming thumbnail When Dreams Aren’t Realized What Should You Do? 09/01/17
The Issue of Kissing thumbnail Ginger And the Issue of Kissing 08/30/17
Minnows or Manhood thumbnail Minnows or Manhood Or Scent of a Woman.... 08/28/17
Ti Ti Poem thumbnail Ti Ti and I A Most Haunting Relationship 08/04/17
Unconditional Love thumbnail Ginger And Her Unconditional Love 07/28/17
Birthday Cake thumbnail Self-Portraits... By Vincent, Jack, and Owen 07/19/17
Dump Me Off thumbnail Just Drop Me Off And Ginger’s Toy Dog 07/14/17
Pledge Allegiance thumbnail I Pledge Allegiance To Donald the Dumb 07/03/17
Donald the Dumb's Dilemma thumbnail Donald the Dumb’s Dilemma Falling from Great Heights 06/21/17
Breaking News thumbnail Breaking News from Ginger About Trump Colluding with the Russians and Putin 06/02/17
Jack and Owen's Creation thumbnail Jack and Owen’s Creation A Birthday Cake for Their Mother 05/29/17
Haunting of Hachi thumbnail The Hauntings of Hachikō and Bobby… And the Haunting of My Gingers 05/24/17
Ginger's Predecessors thumbnail Ginger’s Predecessors And My Domesticated Carnivore 05/19/17
Morphing Of My World thumbnail Class, Easter Ham, and Kayaking... The Morphing of My World 05/15/17
I'm Not Going Silently thumbnail Do Not Going Gently Into That Good Night I Will Rage 05/05/17
Ginger's World thumbnail Ginger’s World… Donald the Dumb’s Cave 04/24/17
The Meaning of Life thumbnail The Meaning of Life It Is All About Fighting the Good Fight for Others 04/19/17
Bowl of Cherries thumbnail Life Is a Bowl of Cherries Or the Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men 04/14/17
This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef thumbnail This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef... And Ginger Devoured the Little Piggy’s Ear 04/10/17
Pride Before Fall thumbnail Pride Before Fall Learnings from History 04/03/17
Chick Magnet thumbnail Chick Magnet And the Hauntings 03/31/17
The Hauntings thumbnail The Hauntings About Bobby and the Gingers 03/27/17
Ginger's Bed thumbnail Ginger's Bed Fit for a Queen 03/21/17
A Tweet to God... thumbnail A Tweet to God... A Tweet from James Baldwin 03/20/17
Ginger's Explanation... thumbnail Ginger's Explanation... For Her Man Cave 03/13/17
On Riding to Samara thumbnail On Riding to Samara Then and Now.... 03/10/17
Invictus thumbnail Invictus Thank You, Mrs. Davis 03/06/17
A Dog's Purpose thumbnail A Dog's Purpose The Person's Purpose 03/03/17
Romney and Irish Setter thumbnail Romney and Irish Setter The Political Right is Often Wrong. 02/24/17
Kennedy Socks thumbnail Kennedy Socks Presidents and Camelot 02/20/17
Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... thumbnail Thus Spoke Dr. Marchand... And Ginger 02/15/17
Ginger, Socks, and Poe thumbnail Ginger, Socks, and Poe Finding Lenore.... 02/13/17
Lambs Eat Ivy thumbnail Lambs Eat Ivy And Ginger Eats Lamb Ears 02/06/17
The Meaning of Ginger thumbnail The Meaning of Ginger The Winter Solstice 02/01/17
Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady thumbnail Ginger, the Dances, and the Lady It Is All About Determination 01/02/17