My sons, Jarrett and Trevor, and I spent a warm, breezy Father's Day out a my parents' farm in Lena, Illinois. More than just social visits with my parents, these are also opportunities for us to learn more about nature, agriculture, and life without traffic jams. While my mom breaks out beef sandwiches, pickles, and potato chips for lunch, my dad and I cover our usual discussion topics. What's the price of gas in Lake County? How are the Bears going to do this season? What did you think of the latest Sandford book? After looking at the sky, he checks area weather using an app on his iPad. "Those clouds don't look too good, but there's nothing on the radar", says dad. As sure as "death and higher taxes", mom will always have several varieties of potato chips on the lunch table, and my dad will attract "weather events" like ants to a picnic blanket. Before deciding to get into teaching, I studied geography and meteorology in the...
Ruminations about lifelong learning.