The time has come. I can’t wait any longer. by Jane Fritz

07 Oct 2025 12 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

This week I am reposting a blog by a good friend who has been writing them for over 13 years now.  She has decided to take a hiatus for reasons that you will discover when you read her blog.  Many of her followers have left comments describing how much her blogs meant to them and how sad her leaving the blog community will make them.  I will post my comments to Dr. Jane Fritz at the end of this blog.  I am also sad at her leaving.  Her blogs were always fun, inspirational and truthful.  The late Pope Francis said that Truth, Beauty and Goodness were inseparable.  Dr. Fritz managed to bring these to her readers and often with a sense of humor and perspective that left you feeling motivated and challenged to face another day in a chaotic world.  Her words and ideas made the world a better place and they will be missed.  Please do not skip reading the comments left by many other readers. They testify to the good that Jane brought to the world and how much her blog meant to many other people also in need of need of truth, beauty and goodness.

The time has come. I can’t wait any longer.

Dr. John Persico Jr.

 says:

October 6, 2025 at 11:39 am

I can certainly understand where you are coming from Jane.  I will be 80 next September and have been blogging for over 15 years now.  My blogs are nowhere near as popular as yours are and I think my blogs are usually darker than yours.  I have tried (and your blogs motivate me to keep trying) for a balance between optimism and pessimism.  My normal pessimism side give me five blogs a day that I want to publish excoriating the clown and evil man that is running our government today. 

Of course, I recognize that he is just a puppet as are the 74 million people that voted for him.  This latter fact only makes our situation worse in this country.  Nevertheless, I see the value in publishing more optimistic and often more personally helpful blogs like you do.  I am trying to do a balance and hope that this balance will keep me from going off the deep end.  There is still much beauty in life and still so many people out there to connect with that have been helped by our blogs.  You get many more comments each blog than I do and I am touched by how many people you have helped with your blogs.  I get a few comments per blog but even these few comments keep me going.  My mantra is that if I can touch one soul a month, than I am going to keep writing. 

This long diatribe on my part sounds like a subtle plea for you to keep writing.  However, I am not being subtle when I say that your blogs make a difference to thousands of people and it would be a shame to see one more beautiful and thoughtful voice eliminated from the blogosphere.  That is just what D.J. Trump wants.  To silence beauty, goodness and truth.  So I hope you can simply take a break from your writing.  Find a balance in terms of content.  And pick up your pen again when you are ready.  Remember the “Pen is mightier than the sword.”  Your friend John

Celebrating Easter with a trump Protest Rally

20 Apr 2025 13 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Woke up this Saturday (April 19th) morning and got dressed to head to Casa Grande for a trump protest rally.  It seemed like something worthwhile doing on Holy Saturday.  The rally was to be held at the corner of Florence and Colorado streets.  It was slated to start at 9:30 AM and continue until 11:AM or whenever.  I arrived early at 8:15 AM and was the first one there.  Fortunately, there was a Dunkin Donuts near the same corner.  I went in and ordered an extra-large pistachio iced coffee and my favorite Old-Fashioned Donut.  Coffee and donut came to $7 dollars and about 800 calories.  This would have made Dr. Petra my PA very unhappy.  She said that I needed to cut down on my sugar carbs since my LDL levels were very elevated.

Ate my donut while watching the street outside.  I could finally see that people were coming to the corner.  Many had signs and some had chairs.  People were taking up positions on both sides of the street.  I grabbed my coffee and went out to join the other protesters.  I regret that I did not have a sign, but I had worn my USAF hat and a protest shirt that you can see from the picture below.  I soon met several people that I knew from Karen’s church.  This finding pleasantly surprised me.  I jokingly said that we had a church contingency there from First Presbyterian.

Over the course of the next two hours, the protestors grew almost in pace with the street traffic.  Florence is the main drag in Casa Grande and there are four lanes of traffic going down the street.  Many people waved at us.  Many honked.  We wanted to believe that their honking was a form of approval.  Some threw the finger.  Others gunned their cars and roared by us.  These later two efforts were clearly not signs of approval.  I walked up and down the street talking to other protestors and taking pictures of the signs that many people were carrying.  I have included pictures of these signs below.  They tell the story better than words ever could.

We are going to continue massive protests in this country.  It was heartwarming to see so many other people out there willing to give up a part of their day to signal their distaste for the immoral and unethical individual that now claims to be POTUS.  Some people have asked if we are going to make a difference.  My response is that I do not know.  I think the odds are against us.  However, when you buy a lottery ticket, the odds are also against you.  You do not know whether or not you are going to win.  Only one thing is certain; if you do not buy a ticket you have absolutely NO chance to win.  I am buying a ticket every chance I get to unseat or at least prevent trump from getting away with destroying the country that I was born in and that I fought for.  America is not exceptional to me.  Neither is it the greatest country in the world.  America has always offered me a chance and a promise to try to be better.  I have not always taken her up on this.  As Martin Luther King so famously said,

“In a sense we have come to our Nation’s Capital to cash a check.  When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.  Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.  We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.  So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.”

Those of us who are marching or walking or writing are not coming to make “America Great Again.”  We are coming to help restore the promise of a check to immigrants, minorities, women, disabled, LGBTQ+, Veterans, poor people, lonely people, hungry people, middle class people and even rich people.  We are coming to restore the ideas of the Founders of this country.  To restore their dreams and hopes that they laid out 250 years ago.  To restore an America that all of us believed it could and should be.  To make an America that is always getting better and better.  The dreams of a democracy which prides itself upon uplifting people and not destroying people.  We have had too many battles in this world where no one wins.  We need to foster a belief in WIN-WIN where both sides come out ahead and there are no losers.  We need an America that walks hand in hand with other people across the globe to make “The World Great” and not just America great.

My Final Will and Testament – Risks – Reflection #6

20 May 2024 2 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Last year at my 40th Demontreville Retreat, one of the exercises that we were given by the Retreat Master included a very challenging set of thoughts.  The worksheet for the activity was labeled as “A Testament.” I took the worksheet and instructions home with me.  It had fourteen tasks or reflections to complete.  I did not desire to complete them during the retreat.  It is now almost a year since my retreat, and I have decided to make the mental and emotional effort necessary to complete this “Testament.”

The worksheet started with these instructions:

Imagine that this is the last day of your life on earth.  In the time that you have left, you want to leave a “Testament” for your family and friends.  Each of the following could serve as chapter headings for your “Testament.”

6.  These are the greatest Risks that I have taken in my life.

I have never really thought of myself as a risktaker.  First-born children are usually more pampered, and some believe that this results in them being less willing to take risks.  I know when it comes to physical things, I am not much of a risktaker.  I do not want to climb any mountains and I have only had one sky diving experience.  I am certainly not and have never been into what are called “Extreme Sports.”

When it came to business, I had always wanted to start my own company.  I have tried at least five times and have not really been very successful.  I attribute my failures to my lack of being willing to take risks when it comes to money.  I am very conservative financially.  I have shunned any  real monetary risks.  I tried starting a newspaper.  That did not go very well.  I also tried starting an on-line bookstore to focus on selling business related books. I invested some of our insurance money into the latter venture and lost every penny.  In both cases, failure did not lead me to getting up and trying again.  I took our losses and bailed rather than investing more money in either venture.

One risk that I have always taken was in terms of fighting.  Some of you might think fighting is wrong but I have always been willing to stand up to bullies and fight them either physically or emotionally.  Long before Trump  was being called a liar, I labeled him as such in my blogs.  In fact, when his first book “The Art of the Deal” came out, I wrote a review and basically described his book as worthless in terms of any useful financial advice.  I have written almost twenty blogs noting many reasons why the world would be better off with Trump in jail than running lose on the streets.

I have always written in my blogs what I think is the truth regardless of the circumstances.  Here in Arizona City, I was one of the few if not the only person in town to have a Hillary and Biden campaign posters in my front yard during the elections.  I was warned by my next-door neighbor that this might not be a good idea.  With Karen’s blessing, we left our posters up.

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Another area that I have been willing to take risks in has been in terms of travel.  Karen and I have been to 44 countries now.  We went to China on our own two weeks before the Tiananmen Square Massacre.  We departed from the Shanghai airport for home the day before they closed it down.  We traveled over a great deal of China with a friend that we met there but also a great deal on our own.

Over the years and many trips, we have never gone on any large cruises.  We weigh the risks in traveling but we much prefer to travel alone.  I can’t imagine a trip where I have to go to any place at a specific time with a large group.  The one major exception to our travels with any pre-plans was our trip to South Africa.  A year or so ago, we went to South Africa on a custom tour.  We planned the trip with the cruise company.  During our trip we traveled with private guides to events and places that we had agreed on beforehand.  We have been warned many times about not going to places like Peru, Israel, Mexico, Russia and other countries.  With the exception of Russia which fell through because of Covid we have had wonderful trips in every country that we have visited.

I guess my final area of risk taking, besides being willing to try almost any food in the world, concerns my leaving home at 18 to join the military.  I decided to leave home without telling my parents that I was joining the miliary.  This was in 1964 during the Vietnam war and I thought that fighting communism in SE Asia was a patriotic thing to do.  Perhaps more important than that desire was my desire to leave home and see some of the world.  I wrote about my adventures in the United States Airforce in a three-part blog about five years ago.  If you really want to hear more about this story, go to https://agingcapriciously.com/2019/11/10/the-day-i-joined-the-airforce-part-one

Well friends, that’s it for this reflection.  I can’t think of any major risks I have taken that seemed either scary or frightening.  I have always been up for adventures but never much of a leader when it comes to breaking new trails.  I am a great follower though.  If you have any adventure planned, I would be more than happy to join you.

Next Reflection:    

  1. These are the sufferings that have seasoned me and made me more compassionate.

 

I Am an Inconsistent Man

10 Apr 2024 22 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

inconsistencyOver time, I have noticed that the most popular post I have on my blog site is my Home page “Who is Dr. John Persico Jr.?”  I realize that most readers want to know my credentials to see if anything I am going to say has any credibility.  Am I someone you can trust?  Can you depend upon my words or my facts?  Am I just another wannabe Guru so full of my own opinions that I have no room for other points of view?

Upon re-thinking my Home page, I realized that it really does not do justice to describe who I am.  It does not answer the questions that I raised above.  In fact, if you take it at face value, it could be very dangerous for you.  It could lead you to paradoxes and quandaries which are unsettling.  It might lead you “circulus in probando” down a path that flows around until it comes right back to where it started.

A discussion with a friend the other day led me to realize that I am a very inconsistent man.  Sometimes I say one thing, but then I change my mind.  I am a very erratic person.  Sometimes, I am very logical and at other times I am very illogical.  Many of the ideas competing in my mind are incompatible.  In fact, not only are they incompatible, but they are genuinely irreconcilable.  This creates an uncertain and unpredictable me.  If you are looking for consistency, if you want certainty in an uncertain world, I do not have much of it to give to you.  I am capricious and arbitrary.

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I am changeable and often at odds with my own beliefs.  My life is discordant.  Many of my friends would say discrepant.  I subscribe to the motto that, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”  I prefer the incongruous and incoherent.  The fickle and dissonant are the music of my life.  Boring is living with certainty and sameness.  God, please surround me with temperamental unstable mercurial and out of step people.  James Bond said that “Boredom” is the worst curse of all.  What could be more boring than a life whose patterns show no variability?  Only sameness.  All White motifs.  No mosaics struggling with each other for our attention.

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I have a friend who wants to be called at definite hours and with a pattern of hours that are predictable.  “Let’s set a time to talk each day.”  “No, No, I am a serendipitous caller.  Let fortuosity guide our conversations.”    The unforeseen and the unpredictable make life more interesting.  Do we want to be rats on a treadmill?  Sometimes, I walk by a health club and ten people are all sitting on exercycles facing the window and pedaling furiously to go nowhere.  In my mind, I make faces at them and tell them, “Get a real bike and go ride in the traffic.”   

It is these same people who say “I don’t like fish.  They taste too fishy.”  I try not to reply “Do you also dislike mollusks, cephalopods and crustaceans or is it just members of the  Gadidae family that you don’t like?”

imagesThose who march to the proverbial beat of a different drummer live with risk, but they also are not bored.  We only experience life when we are open to the unknown and the unpredictable.  Walk through a cemetery at midnight.  Take a train or bus to someplace you have never been before.  Read a book in a new genre.  Watch a movie that is offbeat.  Try some foods that you think you might not like.  Meet some new people.  Embrace the strange and esoteric.  Life is not a cherry; it is a seething caldron of uncertainty and innumerable possibilities.  You will never truly live if you simply stand at the edge of the caldron and wait for it to stop bubbling.

God save me from consistency, constancy, periodicity, routine, steadiness, regularity, and invariability.  Give me a life with syncopation.

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Why Do I Write?

08 Jun 2023 17 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

downloadOver the years, I have noticed that I have about as many people each week who view my “Who is Dr. John Persico Jr?” profile as read my blog.  I suppose it is only natural that people would want to know something about me before believing anything I say.  If only everyone did the same thing with the politicians that they vote for.  But that is another issue.

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I left Arizona about three weeks ago and have not posted anything since then.  We took our RV back to Wisconsin for the summer to visit some friends and relatives.  My previous record for living in this 26-foot RV trailer was 7 days.  I am now going on 16 days and have not lost my mind yet.  I have spent more time at the local hardware store looking for things that we either needed or thought we had brought with us than I have spent sleeping.  I found out over time that homes were money pits, I am beginning to wonder if the same is true of RV homes.  I have ninety more days to go to find out.

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Anyway, we have most things straightened out and I started feeling the need to write something.   It was like the need to exercise; I NEED to write.  Something in my life was missing.  Dozens of topics went through my head.  Spinning around like a ball on a roulette wheel, which topic would my mind stop at.  I must write something and soon.  Spinning, spinning, spinning, it finally stopped at “Why Do I Write?”  I suppose I feel somewhat like Hank Williams Jr. sang in his famous song, “Family Tradition”:

They get on me and want to know,

Hank, why do you drink?

Hank, why do you roll smoke?

Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?

Over and over

Everybody makes my prediction,

So, if I get stoned, I’m just carrying on,

An old family tradition.

I can’t say that I am carrying on a family tradition.  More like I am starting one.  But I have done and still do my share of smoking, drinking, and carrying on.  I certainly try to live out the blogs that I wrote.  But as I started trying to answer the question as to why I write, I came up with the following reasons.  Some realistic, some not.  Some mundane, some grandiose.  Some memorable, some not. Some inspiring, some disappointing.  Like’em or leave’em, here are my reasons for posting nearly 700 blogs over the past 13 years or so.

  • To influence
  • To persuade
  • To change ideas
  • To challenge ideas
  • To share ideas
  • To titillate
  • To shock
  • To inform
  • To remember
  • To celebrate
  • To bless
  • To find peace
  • To find happiness
  • To share joy
  • To share pain
  • To share sorrow
  • To organize
  • To rally
  • To tell a story
  • To have fun
  • To be creative
  • To act as a catharsis
  • To become immortal
  • To become famous
  • To receive honorable mention someday
  • To leave a legacy
  • To leave a history
  • To set some records straight
  • To support causes that I believe in
  • To honor those who I think deserve it
  • To skewer those who I think deserve it
  • To make a difference
  • To find out who I am
  • To help others remember who I was

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Well, there you have it friends.  My reasons for writing.  Many of you who read my blog are wonderful writers.  If you leave a comment, tell me why you write.  I suspect some of you will have much better reasons for writing than I have.  Notice, money was not one of my reasons.  Not that money is not important to me, but I would rather be known as a great writer than a billionaire.  Both titles have to date eluded me and probably will continue to do so.

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