Dismiss theater critics you disagree with, or learn from them?

Note to Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones:

Hi, Chris.

I was surprised by all of the reviews highly recommending Mr. Wolf. 

[Deleted my thoughts about the play, which most readers of this blog probably haven’t seen.]

What I'm really writing about is that my reactions so often don't converge with the critics' that it makes me feel I'm not bright or perceptive, despite evidence to the contrary in other aspects of my life. Or maybe I'm not sophisticated enough for a cutting-edge theater like Steppenwolf. But isn't theater for ordinary folks, too?

Thanks for listening.

Marianne Goss

How much should you plan retirement activities?

Megan, a friend who retired more recently than I, said that a couple of people had advised her to plan what to do post work. “Did people tell you that?,” she asked.

It’s not advice I would have given to Megan, as active as she is. As I thought about whether retirees need an activity plan, my mind roamed over how various friends approached that new phase.

Tone down your own rhetoric, President Trump

Political commentators are offering their insights after yesterday’s killing of Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk. Trump blamed the rhetoric of “the radical left” for political violence, saying, “[I]t is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.”

Is he forgetting his own words?