Silence

The barber in my hometown, Wild Rose, WI, was a talker. He went on and on about anything and everything. One day, an infrequent customer sat in his chair.
"And how would you like your hair cut?" the barber asked.
"In silence, please," the customer said.

Silence is difficult to find these days. If it's not a cellphone jingling, a TV ad blasting the airways with political ads, its the never ending sound of traffic, day and night.

My son, Steve and I spent last week in northern Minnesota, canoeing in the Boundary Waters. The only sounds were the gentle lapping of waves against rocks, the occasional call of a loon, and the chatter of a pesky red squirrel intent on stealing our lunch.

Silence! How I enjoy it, but infrequently find it.

The Old Timer Says: "Keep things simple. They'll get complicated enough, soon enough, without you intending that they should."


ANNOUNCEMENT: My new book for this fall is titled OLD FARM: A HISTORY. The Wisconsin Historical Society Press is the publisher and it will be in the stores by the end of September. My photographer son, Steve and I did this one together. Go to www.wisconsinhistory.org/whspress to learn more.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 10, 7:00 PM Presentation and Book Signing, Borders West, Madison. In A Pickle.

September 11, 7:00 PM Presentation and Book Signing. Mineral Point Historical Society, Opera House, Mineral Point, WI. "Stories From the Land."

September 20, Saturday, 2:00 PM Monroe Cheese Days. Presentation and Book Signing.