Another Unhelpful Aphorism

A man cannot effectively live in the past, but with a medium-sized stick he can knock most small animals silly.

--Mitchell Hegman

Rockferry

Duffy. 

 

Please click on the following link if the video posted here fails to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB_qvjeLjjI

--Mitchell Hegman

Best Friends

 

This is a fairly old story, but is one timeless in its message.

--Mitchell Hegman

Please click on this link if the video posted does not launch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Au2cQGaQBc

Would the Barber of Seville Shave a Bearded Woman?

I sometimes consider how Bertrand Russell, the famous mathematician and philosopher, fretted away a whole year, from 1903 to 1904, contemplating this one thought:

A man of Seville is shaved by the barber of Seville if and only if the man does not shave himself.  Does the Barber shave himself?

I find difficulty in imagining an intelligent man contemplating such a thought for an entire year and more difficult to consider that this paradox seemingly blew out of the water all mathematical logic.  But here is the paradox: If the barber shaved himself—he didn't shave himself.  If the barber didn't shave himself—he did shave himself.

Think about that for a moment.  Read the italicized sentence a few times.  Think a bit more.  As I read about this philosophical and mathematical dilemma and tried to solve the problem myself, I realized that Mr. Russell suffered from a lack of options.  I reconfigured the question posed by Russell and added a few options.

What if a woman has a mustache to shave?  How does that fit?

What if the barber actually grows a beard that he never even trims?

What if—by genetic defect or as result of auto immune disease—a man has no body hair, and never shaves?

Is the barber of Seville technically a barber as he strolls down the street?  When he eats?  Does his  shaving count if he shaves himself at home instead of at his shop?

How much does the barber of Seville charge for a shave?

Should you tip him?

What if you had a trench to dig...would you hire a philosopher or the barber of Seville?

What were we talking about?

 

--Mitchell Hegman

Note: I may have posted a slightly different version of this a few years ago on this post.  Also, I shave myself.

Reeder’s Alley

Reeder’s Alley is the oldest neighborhood in Helena.  The oldest permanent structure in Helena—the so-called Pioneer Cabin—is just outside the entrance to the brick-paved street that curves up through Reeder’s Alley at the base of Mount Helena.   Small red brick shops and apartments line the narrow street.

Pioneer cabin was constructed in 1864 by Wilson Butts, one of the first prospectors to arrive at Last Chance Gulch following the discovery of gold that same year.  He constructed his cabin little more than a stone-throw from the gulch that would eventually provide $19 million worth of gold in four years—the second largest placer find in Montana.  The mining camp that eventually became Helena, Montana soon grew around the small cabin.

Louis Reeder, a skilled builder from Pennsylvania, arrived in the mining camp in 1867.  Keen to advantage opportunity, Mr. Reeder began constructing small but sturdy stone and brick apartments and bunkhouses in what was then mostly a tent and shanty camp.  He wisely built his neighborhood next to the Butts cabin on stable ground just above the raucous and ever-changing placer-works.

My own ancestors (seeking fortune in the gold mining camps) arrived in the Helena area at the same time as Louis Reeder.  They ended up settling near Marysville, just a few miles northwest of Helena, and worked underground.   I think about all of that history every time I walk through Reeder’s Alley.

Yesterday, I went to Reeder’s Alley to see my friend Dundee.  She operates a barber shop in one of the small street-side buildings.  Her business sign is at the center of the photograph I posted today.   I captured the picture with my much-smarter-than-me phone.   The street was spring-warm and the light breeze sweeping up through the trees smelled earthy and vital.  The day felt old and young at once.

--Mitchell Hegman

The Reason We Don’t French-Kiss Blue Whales

There is a reason for everything.  Today I am sharing a small list of reasons for a few items you may not have considered:

The reason we simply say “the reason” instead of saying “the reason why:”

            —Saying “the reason why” represents redundancy in the English language.

The reason we don’t French-kiss blue whales:

            —Their tongues can weigh as much as a full-grown elephant.

The reason we like Irish music:

            —Even if you don’t like the music, it is Irish and therefore involves beer or whiskey in both the production and the listening process.

The reason Montanans call streams a “crick” instead of a “creek”:

            —Seriously...you think we need to explain ourselves?  It is our crick, Dude!

The reason for everything (the ultimate answer to everything):

            —43.  

(NOTE: For a more detailed answer to this question refer to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.  Also note that the original answer was incorrectly thought to be 42.)

 

--Mitchell Hegman

Never too late to Start?

Yesterday (while I was naked in my hot tub, which I swear is unrelated) the thought occurred to me that I have never kissed a woman just because I liked her voice.  And then I got to thinking about all of the women with nice voices.  Maybe it is never too late to start.

--Mitchell Hegman