“The impulse of every writer is to keep out of politics.” — George Orwell

He went on to say, “the time is coming — not next year perhaps, not 10 or 20 years but it is coming —when every writer will have a choice of being silenced altogether or of producing the dope that a privileged minority demands.

I can see the time coming when people will even write about their dogs like the one lying next to me. Casey is home from what might be his last year at college for now. Mello is charged by Casey, come to think of it she is charged by everything.

Knowles Daugherty called to tell me about “My Antonia” a Czech play that hit the stage in New Prague right here in Minnesota. It would have been a joy to see.

The play, adapted by Allison Moore from Willa Cather’s 1918 novel about a Czech immigrant in a small town, was performed at Illusion in February 2010.

Had I been aware of it, I would have tried to get there. We could have filled a bus here in Austin, Myrtle area.

Of course it brings to mind a good Czech read — Talks with T.G. Masaryk by Karel Capek. It’s a book I picked up in Prague a few years back and there are memories of my father.

Moving on there are a lot of disturbing situations going on, the tactics in Libya where our air power has waged another attack and no doubt taken lives. That’s a big industry in our country and causing a lot of deaths.

And today the sky is grey as we all await the sun. Our back yard has a bit of snow left and some ice patches and mud. When Mello goes out we get to wipe her feet when she comes back in and she still likes to stand up at the wall and look for neighborhood dogs.

As I finish this, Mello is keeping her eye on people movement passing by on foot so she can bark at them. I attempt to keep her out of politics.