The PPP #81
Monet's Lily Pond, Bill Moyers, TEDx Talks and a pinch of Rousseau
Happy Phriday
I was going to put some “It’s hotter than…” lines in here. So I Googled them. I did not realize how dirty they are. “It’s hotter than hell,” is about the cleanest of the lot. If you don’t believe me, check this out.
Quote I am Considering
"In this new state, with a simple and solitary life, very limited needs, and the implements they had invented to provide for them, since men enjoyed very great leisure, they used it to procure many kinds of commodities unknown to their Fathers; and that was the first yoke they imposed on themselves without thinking about it, and the first source of the evils they prepared for their Descendants. For, besides their continuing thus to soften body and mind, as these commodities had lost almost all their pleasantness through habit, and as they had at the same time degenerated into true needs, being deprived of them became much more cruel than possessing them was sweet; and people were unhappy to lose them without being happy to possess them." The First and Second Discourses, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Sammie’s Journal: Monet’s Lily Pond
Three weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Monet's country home in France. I wandered through his garden, explored his house, and strolled around the famous lily pond. Standing in Monet's atelier I felt a sense of solitude even with other tourists around.
As you enter his house you are greeted by an enlarged photo on an easel of the famous painter. In this photo, Monet stands in his study looking up at the camera. It looks as though he has two cigarettes in his mouth lighting them both at once. It appears that like the photographer was positioned on the stairs of the study. I felt a sudden and unexpected connection with Monet as I stood staring at that photo. Perhaps he was lighting a cigarette for whomever was taking his photo? Perhaps he was lighting one for me.
The house and grounds crowded with tourists was a bit too talky for me. But even with all the people, I could still sense the peace and serenity the Monet sought to capture with his great paintings of the lily pond.
Later that week we visited the Orangerie Museum to see the display of the largest Lily Pond panels in one place. The more you look at these paintings the more you begin to see.
A good writer should write like Monte painted. You paint a picture of a landscape. You paint in the things you expect to see. But as you look closer at the painting, you begin to understand aspects of the landscape at work that are not immediately or consciously visible. These aspects may not even be in the frame of the scene. They might be reflections of the clouds on the water, the color of sunlight streaming behind the trees, the muted shapes of tree roots under the water, or the invisible wind dappling the pond’s surface.
One of my literature professors called it rhetorical layering. It is the reason you hear many say, Wow when I read that book a second time, I got so much more out of it.
Mike Friday’s Funnies: Batteries
I can sympathize with batteries. I never get included in anything either. There's a woman at the playground who sells batteries. She sells C cells by the seesaw. I had to take the batteries out of my carbon monoxide detector last night. The loud beeping was giving me a headache and making me feel sick and dizzy. What do you call the game "Operation" without the batteries? Autopsy. I just found two lumps on my car battery. Got them tested, one came back positive. I hope it's not terminal. Why did the 9 volt battery get kicked out of church? Because they were holding an AA Meeting. I went to the store and said to the clerk, "I need a battery so I can tell the time." He asked, "Is it for a clock?" I said "I don't know! That's why I need the battery!"
TEDx Normal: Vivian Kong Doctora
I am on the planning team for the local TEDx Talks. Most of these folks are local speakers. These talks I share with you are from our 2025 spring event. Enjoy.
What if we taught kids to think like entrepreneurs before they ever entered the workforce? In this inspiring talk, former corporate leader turned business owner Vivian Kong Doctora makes the case for instilling entrepreneurial thinking in children—not just to start businesses, but to build confidence, creativity, and problem-solving skills for life. Through the Young Entrepreneur Market and her daughter’s own jewelry business, she shows how mentorship, hands-on experience, and community support can nurture the next generation of innovators. Because when kids learn to see problems as opportunities, they don’t just change their own lives—they start changing the world. Vivian stepped away from a 21 year corporate career to follow her passion for enterpreneurship- a leap that was both terrifying and incredibly rewarding. Today, she owns multiple businesses including my latest project of a new revolving sushi bar.
Throat Punch Poetry: Haiku Paris
By S. Lewis
another church and another castle, another work of heartbreak art how do you write a poem about the poem the city of Paris
Moment of Zen: Godspeed Mr. Moyers
Back in the ‘80s, I got hooked on the Bill Moyers series of interviews with Joseph Campbell. “The Power of Myth”. Mr. Moyers went to seminary to be a Baptist preacher and ended up being the press secretary for Lyndon Johnson. But he was always a journalist at heart, and a damn good one.
“I was born in the Depression, lived through World War II, have been a part of politics and government for all these years,” he said, before observing that “a society, a democracy can die of too many lies. And we’re getting close to that terminal moment unless we reverse the obsession with lies that are being fed around the country.”
Still, Moyers said, “…do facts matter anymore? I think they do.”
If you are not ready to become a paid subscriber, you can simply make a one-time donation here at Buy Me A Coffee. Nothing does more for me than when someone tells me how much they like my writing. I appreciate all of you who follow this page.
