Category: post

On the subject of food, my most recent food obsession is the humble Jambon Beurre — the unofficial national sandwich of France (more than three million jambon-beurre sandwiches are sold in France each day).

So simple. Only three ingredients. But, in discussing this with my Dad today another side thought occurred to me… Because of its simplicity the quality of each ingredient matters that much more. And, I believe this to be a general rule of thumb. The simpler the dish, the more important the quality of the ingredients — the mediocre simply has no where to hide!

You can use canned peas in a casserole and folks will likely never notice. Use them for mushy peas and they’ll likely be terrible.

So, with the jambon beurre I’m careful to use good ham (usually a lightly smoked prosciutto actually), a generous slather of Président butter and a fresh baguette.

I’ve tried the cheap quality alternatives to all three and, well, let’s just say it is not why I keep making them.

This idea came up in conversation with my dad this morning (credit mostly to him):

If you use a microwave until it dies, no problem. You can buy a new one.

You can drive a car until the wheels are practically falling off. Then replace it with a new one.

You only have one body. It can’t be replaced.

Just like the car or the microwave, how well you maintain them and carefully you use them will have an effect on how long they last.

But your body, once it’s done, it’s done.

So, it’s even more important to use and maintain it as well as you can, for as long as you can. Because it’s irreplaceable.

So, put the best fuel (food) in it you can. Make sure that fuel is clean and high-quality (organic, sustainable, balanced, chemical free, ingredients you can trust, etc.). Keep your regularly scheduled maintenance visits (doctors, dentist, etc.). Run it regularly at both cruising and highway speeds (regular walking and exercise). Give it regular washings and keep it looking good (clean cars run better and last longer, so do bodies). These things may cost you more, but that’s because they are better and better for you.

I like this way of thinking about it and making choices for what I do and consume based on this line of thought.

Pairs well with a conversation I had with a friend many years ago, explaining why the added expense often kept me from shopping at the wonderful natural food co-op that’s just a block and a half away as often as I should. He turned to me and said, “Patrick, it’s an investment in your health”.

All these years later, these words ring in my head whoever I shop there.

My faith journey has been, well, complicated. But a large and very influential part of that journey was as a Catholic. I converted from Methodist around age 12 and, though I’ve long journeyed away from the practice of faith, my true spiritual heart was forged there.

While I never felt any particular feelings towards any of the other Popes of my lifetime, Pope Francis was the outlier. Though I did not know him personally, I felt a particular respect and admiration for him.

Reports of all who have met and known him indicate he was a truly pious and humble man who stayed steadfast to his Jesuit practice of service to the poor. Mixed reports early in his tenure of him sneaking out of the Vatican at night to feed the poor had more a ring of truth than some actual verifiable actions of any previous Pope. One would hear such a story and not really question whether it was something he would do if he could.

I even have one direct loose connection to him — I did the graphic design for a report on The Overlooked Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad that was presented to him personally and he received many briefings on. The intended use was as a possible blueprint for modern peace between Abrahamic religions. An effort that is well expressed in his Fratelli tutti encyclical.

All of this is to say that the loss of this Pope weights heavily more than others, and I pray for those who must pick the one to fill his humble shoes.

Rest in peace, Francis.

From what I’ve gleaned from the few conversations I’ve now had with the admissions staff at the few colleges and universities we’ve toured (a dozen or so at this point), they really have no idea what is about to happen to them. Everything they’ve come to expect — in fact count on — is about to get upended.

Sure, many know about the enrollment cliff that begins with the incoming 2026 class (those born in 2008). Of course, many had a plan. That plan included leaning more heavily into recruitment and enrollment of international students. Of course, that will likely not be a viable option going forward. Not only will international students likely not be able to come in the first place but they will likely soon lose many they currently have due to mass revocation of student visas and other measures.

One we spoke with talked about reaching out to rural areas, but those kids and their families are going to be some of the hardest hit in the current back and forth of trade policies and destruction of federal agencies and services. Families desperate to hold on to their livelihoods will be unlikely to send their kids off for a liberal arts education to a school far away.

Then there’s the fact that Federal loan and grant services are currently up in the air and likely to be greatly curtailed if not all out eliminated so paying for college will be difficult for all but a few.

Add to that the war on higher ed, funding, international student visas, and anything that might have the faintest whiff of “DEI” and what I’m left with is a sense of impermanence. Many college and universities will not survive such all out assaults. The drop in enrollment that will happen over the next few years due to all of the above has gone from a cliff to a straight drop off.

In fact, at this point it all sounds like these institutions are still stuck in a world and spouting a script that should just as well be part of some course called “101: History of Collegiate Admissions 1900-2024”.

Therefore, as we’ve gone on these college tours, looking at schools for our current high school junior, I’ve taken in every piece of data regarding acceptance rates, diversity, financial aid availability, touting their status as a “research institution”, study abroad programs, etc. with the firm understanding that none of it is correct. All of it has already changed or will change in the next few months – let alone the next year when Beatrix is, hopefully, getting accepted to the places she likes and is having to make choices about her future.

I’m unsure what to make of it all. I’m hoping that someone would just be honest with us about the whole thing. I’d love to walk into a info session and have the Associate Director of Admissions get up at the podium and say, “Everything I would normally tell you in the next hour is likely no longer applicable and we have no idea about our very future as an institution let alone anything about your young person’s.”

I feel like I’m being gaslit by the entire process.

I’m begging for someone brave enough to admit the truth of not knowing and bold enough to say it and to recognize the challenges that face my kid and so many others.

At least I’d feel some comfort in the unknowing. Less alone in the murky depths of now.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Especially if you work at a college or university, Please feel free to reach out.

Today is one of my wife’s favorite days on the calendar, She likes it because March 4th is also a command, a call to action; March forth!

Two of my favorite writers recently wrote about thinking seasonally and using March as a starting point for the real action of the year.

Mike Vardy writes,

The calendar year starts, and you make plans. You set goals. You even build routines that feel solid. But somehow, it still doesn’t feel like the year has fully started.

That’s because January is a test. February is a warm-up. March? That’s the real beginning.

Seth Godin chimes in with,

January feels like the start of the year, but there’s always a hangover from the holidays. In the northern Hemisphere, February is dark and dreary and we’re mostly hunkering down waiting for the short month to end.

But March? Around the world, March can be a chance to get down to the work we committed to do.

I read both of these following a great session of home repair project planning for the coming Spring with my wife. All of this within 24 hours of each other. It felt like the universe was trying to tell me something…

Carpe diem. Seize the day.

So, I’m going to use this month to continue to, um, march forth on the goals I’ve set for the year.

The Alan Paine Argyle that my wife picked up for me in a clothing exchange. Made in England out of 100% English lambs wool. Perfect for going out to the local pub. Even the not so local ones.

I’m a bit under the weather so I’m using some older existing photos for this one. You’ll just have to trust me that I’m wearing this sweater as I type this…

I call this my “monk” sweater. The reasons should be kind of obvious. It looks like something a monk in the middle ages would have worn. My wife got this for me for Christmas many years ago from Zara. Double breasted with a slouchy hood. This is another fairly warm one that works well as a light jacket by itself in autumn temperatures.

Some days you just want to throw on a t-shirt and a hoodie. It’s a Saturday. You need something you can relax in. Maybe run to the small coffee shop up the block and grab a fancy one. A light yet warm layer you can crumple up, throw into a gym bag, and take back out after the work out.

This is that sweater.