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When I was a newbie teacher of middle-school-age students 42 years ago in the Fall of 1980, I had spent the previous summer preparing to teach English literature, composition and grammar. It was...

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A rose by itself is every rose And this one is irreplaceable perfect, one sufficient word in the context of all things. Rainer Maria Rilke One of the really nice things about living where ...

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I had a bit of a jolt when I read something a fellow diarist posted a few days ago. I thought, “Is this really what it means to live alone when you strip away all the pretense and rationalizatio...

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I have taken many thousands of photographs over the years, but there have been only two instances where I spotted something amazing and mysterious in one of those photos. I have no “real”-world...

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I was walking at the state park yesterday when I saw a mother jogging on the path just ahead, coming in my direction, with what I am guessing was her 5-year old son on his little bike peddling...

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I’ve been stepping away from the madness of crowds, traffic and noise by visiting Magnolia Gardens for more that 40 years now. It’s enchanting, flower-filled pathways are known to me by heart. ...

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The past few weeks have been quite interesting and eye-opening, as well as tumultuous.  We had two serious offers on the house fall through because we are selling it as is, but one of them wanted...

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Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone; For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer; Sigh, it is lost o...

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Now that I’ve moved from the family house downtown that I became so closely acquainted with over the past 25 years, and where I lived for 12 of those years, one thing I miss most is the large fro...

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I woke up from a dream this morning. It was vivid, strange and a bit frightening. I was on a road trip to visit my parents Traffic was at a standstill in the lane ahead of me as I approached a h...

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Saturday was the kind of day in the country I long for, but rarely experience. There was this mysterious convergence of feelings and sensations while in the car driving, windows down, fresh air b...

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Life is full of chapters that we pass through quickly, but near the end, our progression speeds up dramatically as we realize there’s not that much time left to do all we want. Each chapter conta...

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As I drive around Charleston, I still see an occasional pop of brilliant red or pink azaleas, but mostly the annual bloom is gone now, but for the past month they put on a fabulous show around ou...

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Recently, another diarist wrote here about a former work associate who quit his job to start over in a new career because he had started “hearing voices.” Turns out he realized he was a medium ...

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I think I’ve found only one, maybe two, four-leaf clovers, ever. Last year for some reason I started poking around in patches of clover, and quickly found a four-leaf. Nothing since then until ...

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I like that quote about how the older you get the more quiet you become. I’ve always been quiet mostly, and a loner, except for a couple of periods in my life. So I guess I’m getting more solit...

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I spotted this bumper sticker the other day: Warning: “DO NOT WASH! This vehicle is undergoing scientific dirt testing!” Oh my gosh, I gotta have that bumper sticker. My old 2003 Honda someti...

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I’m sitting on my fourth floor balcony at the new apartment. It’s a very pleasant morning. I’m reading online and enjoying an occasional brisk and delightful breeze, which then gently rustles ...

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(Note: The following contains the comment I left after reading a quite moving entry by fellow diarist Pedestrian Wandering. Here I elaborate further on that comment to more fully express my stat...

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The construction workers, have started repairs on the house ahead of its sale later this Spring. With the market the way it is, I’m told it could go in under 48 hours, with a bidding war to boot...

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Sitting here in a rather melancholy mood on a very cool, gray day listening to Boots Randolph play “I Really Don’t Want to Know.” Yes, so appropriate. I really don’t want to know anything rig...

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There’s a difference between living in the past and reflecting often on memories from that same past. This is what people (I’m especially thinking of one of my siblings) often view my life in th...

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But as the Russian bombs began to fall on Ukrainian cities and troops moved to surround the capital, the President underwent a transformation. Before our eyes he came to embody a struggle that mo...

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This is the exact time of year I long for during Winter, even though our winters are mild. The woods are bare and lifeless, and gardens are shriveled stalks and husks. But earlier this week, on ...

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Recently someone asked what an “ordinary day” is like for me. I’m not sure why this inquiry came, but I tried to answer in the simplest way I knew how — by bring quite literal and matter of fac...

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