That my father was a difficult man is a commonly shared viewpoint by most people who knew him. He died at the age of 89 in 2008. He was an astrogeologist at the right place at the right time. The minerals he discovered from craters in Arizona and Germany were called “tektite” and “coesite”, scientific […]
I was reading an interview/article about Louise Erdrich, the writer today. Actually, I guess it was two articles. The first one was this morning in the New York Times newspaper that her latest novel, “The Round House” had won the National Book Award. And she had some stiff competition too. By coincidence this afternoon, I […]
Well, here it is: the anniversary of the first post on my blog, last February 23, 2011. It has come a long way since then and like much of life, has taken its own path. When I first started out,I began the blog with an intent to model thoughts that might inspire others to share […]
Here in America, the land of opportunity, we work harder than anyone else, strive to change ourselves from the outside in or from the inside out. We are encouraged to improve, to eat better, work better, make things better, BE a better person. Constantly. Everywhere you look. I have been there. Today, I thought about […]
As a self-described loner, the number of friends I have can be counted on one hand. Most of them are loners too, a few even more reclusive than I am. They are all artists of one kind or another. Their eye, hand and spirit are usually mucking around in what they are making, the instruments […]
Although I sometimes think of myself as being quiet and solitary, (“a taoist hermit”), in my professional working life, I was anything but. Although I tried very hard each time I was the “newest kid on the block,” to keep my mouth shut and not challenge anybody, it was hard for me to do any […]
Last night, it rained so hard that it woke me up. I walked around silently closing the windows all around the house. It was an interesting night because I found myself dreaming what felt like a very long saga of a melodrama about changing patterns. As with many dreams, it was vivid at the time […]
Today at the end of our Seniors Strength exercise class at the YMCA, one of the members introduced his grandson (I’ll call him “Andrew”) who was visiting from Vancouver, B.C. A year ago, this trim looking fellow weighed 323 pounds, his grandfather said, relating that out of 1000 applicants, he was chosen as one of […]
As usual in the wintertime, I’ve been pulling out my books on Taoism, Buddhism and Zen to thumb through as the snow keeps falling and falling. The book, I-Ching, stays out for me so that I may ask the Cosmos questions when I am stumped or looking for reinforcement. Recently, I decided to read […]
After an intense holiday week preceded by months of preparation, gift-buying, gift-exchanging, wrapping, decorating, shopping for food and cooking immense meals, it’s all over now. Whew! What, I wondered to myself, will I do now to simplify my life, renew a sense of purpose and find fulfilling things to do? Well, I needn’t have wondered. […]
