Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for moreMy weekly walk to church and backThe Column: 04.04.25Garrison KeillorApr 4READ IN APPShareWe seem to be in a war against science and research, which is causing anxiety among us geezers grateful for anti-seizure meds that guard against us suddenly shaking uncontrollably on the street corner and strangers having to remember first aid from 4-H to keep us from strangling on a hot dog and when we’re not reading about that, we see news of low-frequency seismic waves that can travel for hundreds of miles underground and cause tall brick buildings to crash to the ground, which is disturbing to us in Manhattan, and then there’s news of Mr. and Mrs. JD Vance who announced their trip to Greenland to see the dogsled races only to be told, “Nobody invited you,” so they flew to the U.S. military base at Pituffik for three hours and Mr. Vance announced that Greenland needed American defense whether it wanted it or not. He did not change the name of the area to Pitiful.An interesting time we live in. And Wisconsin elected a Supreme Court judge other than the one Elon Musk favored and offered large sums of money to voters in a bid for a win.But the crucial news is that spring is coming, the baseball season has begun and I will wend my way to CF and get a broad view of the action, and I will do the last big outdoor Prairie Home Companion of my life at Tanglewood on June 21, and then, unless RFKJ allows dementia research to proceed, I will retire to Shady Acres and play Parcheesi.I’m enjoying being 82 more than I thought I would when I was your age, kiddo. I thought I’d be cranky and irritable but I’m not. I imagined that if the U.S. government canceled research contracts for institutions that used certain terms such as “Gulf of Mexico” instead of Gulf of America, the correct term, that I’d be upset about it. I’m not. I simply find it of interest and I move on. If the Justice Department told me, “You cannot cast scorn upon an elected government official,” I would say, “The idiot doesn’t even know how to punctuate his first two initials.”I believe I know right from wrong and I think about it on a daily basis and also intensely on Sunday morning shortly before 11 depending how long the sermon went. The sermon itself is sinful in that it falls short of perfection and sometimes the attempt of woman or man to approach God in words is so inadequate that it’s best to tune out and I do and sometimes write a limerick in the bulletin.Was Donald J. Trump a recruit in The Russians’ quest for a route in- To the Oval Office By way of a novice? Trump pooh-poohs it: pooh-Putin. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garrisonkeillor.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s poem is In Response to Feeling Alone by t. liem. The Slowdown is currently taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes from a new host. This week, we’re going back into the archive to revisit Ada Limón’s time as host. Today’s episode was originally released on October 5 2021. In this episode, former host Ada Limón writes… “I spend a lot of time alone during the days. Though the dog would like to assure you I am not alone. And the cat sleeping in the upstairs bathroom would also beg to differ. Still, many of my days are spent in my office, or on the back porch, or at the kitchen table alone with my thoughts.”Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

A Lesson in Botany by Robert Bringhurst

Hosted by Al Filreis and featuring Tonya Foster, Erica Hunt, and Bob Perelman.

In this episode, we hear Nithy Kasa sharing insights behind her poem, "The Horizon is Tired.""The Horizon is Tired" is featured in Nithy's debut poetry collection, "Palm Wine Tapper and The Boy at Jericho" (published by Doire Press). ---For more information about the Fingal Poetry Festival, be sure to visit our website at fingalpoetryfestival.com.---Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Fingal County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland's Capacity Building Support Scheme for their generous support of the Fingal Poetry Festival Podcast---The Fingal Poetry Festival Podcast is produced by Conor Sweetman, with music provided Blue Dot Sessions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.