Ms. J—who tells me she might like to be Ophelia, or some other name, for Mark Rubin Writes—works for The Nature Conservancy. Great organization, and she loves her work!

Recently, she told me she needed to make visits to some of the TNC preserves in Arizona. “Would I come along,” she asked. “Sure,” I said slowly, for I’m a fine husband and a man who loves nature … seen through a window.

First stop? The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary.

So off we go on a Sunday morning. Along the way we passed the 4th and Pennsylvania intersection in suburban Patagonia, which brought to mind the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and 4th St. in Washington, D.C., where I had been

I’ve got two major themes on my mind. First, and this will come as no surprise to regular readers, I am very taken with the quality of the material on the Internet. I think we’re living in a “renaissance” era, especially when it comes to matters public. The Internet and related platforms offer much that devalues us in many ways, but for those who seek intelligent writing and discussions about the matters of the day, my, my, but there’s much to be proud of! (I do hope my bit of a contribution adds to the mix, but I’m really talking about the pros here.)

Within this mix there are greats, near greats, and plenty of material that, like Chinese food

For a while, on and off, I have been promising more on inequality. (I make a fair number of promises and I need to work on that, for I’m not living up to too many of them.) It’s here, it’s about 3-4 times as long as a usual MarkRubinWrites post, it’s depressing, and I think it’s important.

One more thing, and this is really for those who worry about me. Yes, those people do exist, and they know who they are! This post goes somewhere, along with future posts, but none of this is about “soaking the rich” or higher taxes, or a redistribution of income. More taxes may be part of something, but moving money around, alone, goes nowhere.

Eclectic. “ec·lec·tic, deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad range of sources,” per “the Internet.” Now, with 133 published posts—this is No. 134—the notion of “eclectic” had probably passed through at least one reader’s mind. I’ve always thought of myself as an eclectic thinker—open to ideas from all sources—and someone with an eclectic mind. Candidly, or, in modern parlance, tbt, I think my mind is in a calcification stage. Really. I’m less supple, and less willing to tolerate that which is not what I expect/want/like. Working on it every day, and worrying about it even more frequently. If anyone else has been experiencing this phenomenon, please share, either privately at markdrubin@gmail.com or by commenting on this post.