Entries 519
Page 9 of 21
Walking through history
Now that Spring has peeked out of its winter hiding places to give us many signs of the new season to come, I have availed myself of the near perfect weather of late to take long walks in our ci...
If you grew up in the Sixties, you’ll remember this…
Being an inveterate YouTube user, their algorithms have gotten pretty good at selecting videos they know I’d like. It’s downright uncanny at times. Particularly so when they produce nostalgia ...
The art of John Ford Clymer: Imagining a more innocent time
I always loved to visit and take road trips to central Washington State years ago when I lived near Seattle. Driving over the Cascade Mountains, one enters a drier, more austere landscape, but on...
Winter Beach Study Reveals What We Often Don’t See
The camera is a sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity. Henri Cartier Bresson A couple of days ago I visited the familiar and dear-to-my heart beach on the Atlantic 10 miles fro...
Slip, slip sliding away?
Longing to be elsewhere, our minds settle, we’re not enough, or we can’t do enough, it’s all so empty. The problem with this kind of thinking: When the awaited event does occur, happiness may not...
Sunset photo sequence captures infinite sky colors and mood
I often photographs sunsets in my surroundings because I am blessed to have easy access to three parks that offer abundant views across open water and sky and provide perfect vantage points to ph...
Our camellias survived the freeze
I was afraid our recent freeze would zap the gorgeous camellias that have bloomed in such abundance in all our city parks and gardens, but not so. A few days ago I went back to Hampton Park and ...
What is “The Truth?”
I’ve been pondering this interesting statement from a video by an Indian yogi, Shri M. He said, “Very few people actually want to seek out the truth for themselves.” And this, “Very few people...
“Moon River,” a hauntingly beautiful song from the Sixties
In this day and age of seemingly hopeless cynicism; more and more appalling crime news; the continuing despoilment of our environment; and crowds, noise, dejection, and loneliness in our huge, im...
Down Memory Lane with silly hit songs from the 50s and 60s
This is one of those entries where I take myself back in a time machine to the years 1958-1963. That was a momentous time in my young life, as it was during this period in 1961 that my family mo...
What caregivers can also lose once they’ve lost their loved one
It’s been two years almost to the day since my mother departed this life, relieved at last of the mind-robbing illness of dementia. As I reflect on those last weeks she was with us in December ...
What do old family snapshots really reveal?
Moving has meant weeks and months of de-cluttering and emptying closets full of every kind of object and bits and pieces of the past, stuffed in untidy and perilous heaps such that for years I co...
Pies are the best
In these dark times of bad news and fears for the future of democracy and humanity, it’s time once again to dwell on something that makes me happy. And it’s a very simple thing that I’m sure b...
The Internet versus “real life”?
I often think about all the reading, learning, entertainment, and social awakening the Internet has brought me, this past year particularly with the pandemic, but every other year, too. The Inter...
Peace and turmoil
It was a gorgeous winter day at the nature preserve yesterday. One of those days when the sun sparkles, the air is crisp and cold, and the colors of the trees and woods are a mixture of fall and ...
A sofa, a bed, chairs, and bookcases
The day finally arrived yesterday for moving furniture to my tiny new apartment. It all went well. The movers were great. I forgot how strong people can be after doing that heavy lifting for a...
Camellias and salt marsh soak up mellow late afternoon sunlight
This afternoon I’m sitting on the porch looking out over the garden that before long I’ll see no more. The move to smaller place is coming up fast. I’ve stalled as long as I can. I have a smal...
Coca-Cola: memories of good times in a more innocent age
I have recently re-discovered the joys of Coke — Coca-Cola, that is. What is it about this perfectly carbonated, sugery or diet drink, that elicits so many profound memories and associations? F...
Late December at the gardens seemed like Springtime had arrived early
This past Tuesday, just a few days after Christmas, I ventured out to Magnolia Gardens to escape the noise and commotion from the pressure washing of our house. It would do me good, as I’ve had ...
The Gift of Children (Revisited)
This Christmas season has been especially difficult for me. I lost my mother two years ago after taking care of her for ten years when she had dementia. Last Christmas was, as expected, strang...
The power of place in sanctuaries of the spirit
Let there be intervals when we shall do nothing, think nothing, plan nothing, but just lay ourselves on the green lap of nature and “rest awhile. From Streams in the Desert Two days ago. The aft...
Every evening and late into the following morning, I sit on the long and spacious sofa in the den of our family home in the historic district of town — wistful, sad, hopeful — knowing this beauti...
How has aging come to this?
This past Thursday, a funeral was held for the grandmother of a friend’s son-in-law. Although I didn’t know her, I was affected by her passing for a number of reasons, all having to do with how ...
My Mayberry existence — once upon a time
Years ago I lived in a small college town in near a large city, but not too close. It felt like it was out a ways from everything. If it hadn’t been a college town, I would have thought I really ...
Ten ways to confront the climate crisis without losing hope
The world as we knew it is coming to an end, and it’s up to us how it ends and what comes after. It’s the end of the age of fossil fuel, but if the fossil-fuel corporations have their way the end...
Book Description
Short essays from the interior of my life.
