10 Minutes

I just went for a ten minute bike ride.  It wasn’t planned. I jumped on my simple orange single speed and pedaled around the neighborhood at dusk.  No gears, no kit, no prep (other than a quick tire pressure squeeze).

Would my road bike have been faster?  Certainly.  But the orange “crate” was the right bike for the ten minute moment.

I try to write ten minutes every day.

I try to post a photo a 365 photo every day, which takes about ten minutes.

What else can we do in ten minutes?

Kiss the dog

Kiss the spouse.

Consider your future.

Help someone.

Learn a language.

Make a small change.

 

 

Menard

This is the classic version of the Menard family crest.  The inscription that goes with it is:

“D’or a une main sen., tentant un arc. de gu, bande de sa., pose en pal”

Or for the Latin challenged:

“Gold, A left hand holding a red bow, stringed black, posed vertically.”

Family lore says that Pierre Menard is either my great-great-great-great grandfather or my great*5 grandfather. Either way, my Dad’s extensive work to connect us genealogically has not proven this out. Pierre Menard was a fur trader in his youth and a contemporary of Lewis and Clark. He later became active in Illinios state politics and was the state’s first Lieutenant Governer.

As far as we know, we’re no kin to the Menard’s hardware stores in the midwest (or, by association, the Menard’s racing team). At least, they haven’t been sending us any checks.

“Idealism increases in direct proportion to one’s distance from the problem.” — John Galsworthy