Author Archives: John Swinburn

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes

Fictional Writing

Posted on November 12, 2018 by John Swinburn

Wherein the writer attempts, unsuccessfully, to return to writing fiction vignettes, producing swill and incoherent drivel instead. Coleman Daniel Sprague was the first person convicted under the new thought-crime statutes. The charges against him were extensive. The first count with … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | Leave a comment

Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep

Posted on November 12, 2018 by John Swinburn

Several weeks ago, I assured someone I would be happy to take him to doctor visits and other medical appointments when he needed me to do it. Last evening, I received an email from him, asking me to help him … Continue reading →

Posted in Compassion, Empathy | Leave a comment

The Gravity of Justice

Posted on November 11, 2018 by John Swinburn

The way I got there is too convoluted to tell. Suffice it to say I made my way to a blog post that described the writer’s journey of being selected as a juror and then, just as the trial was … Continue reading →

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That Miserable Thought

Posted on November 11, 2018 by John Swinburn

I euthanized that miserable thought, that idea that reeked of the stench of rancid self-indulgence. I ran a spear through its heart and I severed its head. After a day, I threw the rotting corpse of that thought into a … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Spontaneity

Posted on November 10, 2018 by John Swinburn

Spontaneity matters to me. Spontaneity is real. It mines desires and motivations and wishes from the substance of day-to-day life and turns that raw ore into experience. Friends who can adapt to spontaneity and who become part of it are … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | 1 Comment

Tells Stories and Believes Them

Posted on November 10, 2018 by John Swinburn

About four years ago, I wrote a very brief post that began, “Tells stories and believes them.” The quote was my memory (which I believe is correct) of a statement in a psychological inventory’s assessment of my personality. I didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Frustration, Materialism, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Senses and Sensibilities Sans Sanity

Posted on November 9, 2018 by John Swinburn

I wrote two other posts this morning before I got to this one. And I wrote three others last night before I saved them, expecting to return to them this morning and fix them. Instead, I discarded last night’s writing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bowing to the Trees

Posted on November 8, 2018 by John Swinburn

There was a chill in the air this morning, with the temperature hovering around fifty degrees. A thin overcast and a brisk wind made it feel cooler. Billowing flurries of orange and brown and yellow leaves fell from trees in … Continue reading →

Posted in Imagination | 1 Comment

It Usually Turns Out Fine

Posted on November 7, 2018 by John Swinburn

Last night, after writing my post subsequent to visiting with the surgeon, I did additional research on Stage IIB lung cancer survival without treatment. The average, I found, was seven months from diagnosis to death. That’s considerably less than I … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 4 Comments

Staging My Attitude

Posted on November 6, 2018 by John Swinburn

The only real question now is: when? Will I go forward as we decided this afternoon, with surgery next Wednesday, November 14? Or will I wait a bit? After learning of the preliminary staging assessment (Stage IIB),  the potential dangers … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 3 Comments

On with the Day

Posted on November 6, 2018 by John Swinburn

Late yesterday afternoon, I got a message from the Little Rock surgeon to whom my oncologist referred me. I have an appointment late this afternoon. Maybe I’ll know more then. I have plenty of questions for the surgeon. How am … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

I May Have Suffered from Autopathagnosiasis

Posted on November 5, 2018 by John Swinburn

One often hears about people who, after reading or hearing about symptoms of potentially fatal diseases, believe they exhibit such symptoms. One term for such people is hypochondriacs. But what about people who dismiss the suggestion that their diagnoses may … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 3 Comments

Promises Promises

Posted on November 5, 2018 by John Swinburn

Over the years I’ve repeatedly made promises to myself that I’ve broken. The earliest one I remember was the promise I would stop smoking. I first made that promise when I was in my early twenties. It took me thirty … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Questions for the Oncologist

Posted on November 4, 2018 by John Swinburn

I have a lot of questions for my oncologist during my appointment tomorrow morning. I’ve written a list: Please verify the details of my cancer as I understand them: 6 cm tumor in my right lower lobe, right? the biopsy … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 2 Comments

Thanksgiving Planning

Posted on November 4, 2018 by John Swinburn

I was daydreaming for a while this morning, thinking about what we might do for Thanksgiving this year. What kind of non-traditional but celebratory dinner might we prepare? But then it occurred to me that I might learn during tomorrow’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Warning: You Will Be Bored if You Read This

Posted on November 3, 2018 by John Swinburn

My attempt to go back to sleep after I returned to bed shortly after 3:30 was an abject failure. I did close my eyes and attempt to empty my mind of clutter. Instead, I closed my eyes and filled my … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Up in the Middle of the Night

Posted on November 3, 2018 by John Swinburn

It’s just after 3:00 a.m. and I can’t bring myself to write what’s on my mind because I’m not quite sure I know. I woke from a bizarre, troubling nightmare. Rather than attempt to go back to sleep, I got … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | Leave a comment

A Nice Lunch and a Confirmation of Lung Cancer

Posted on November 2, 2018 by John Swinburn

My wife and I drove to Little Rock today with some friends today—Paul and his sister, Rose—for lunch at a place Paul mentioned to us last time we were together. It’s called Sauce(d), a new wood-fired pizza restaurant whose interior … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 2 Comments

Maggie’s Birthday Story as Told by the Son Barack Obama Didn’t Know He Had

Posted on November 2, 2018 by John Swinburn

Around two months ago, a post I wrote focused almost exclusively on a woman I dated once while I was a young, inexperienced kid. I have only a slightly greater reason to write about her today than I did two … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Autumnal Experience

Posted on November 1, 2018 by John Swinburn

An attribute of autumn I once found delightful but now find depressing and burdensome is taking place as I write this. Trees are losing leaves as if the trees were rejecting poisonous attackers, flinging them to the ground in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

As If Never Written

Posted on October 31, 2018 by John Swinburn

I wrote recently of the odd turn in my life of late in which my tendency toward self-diagnosed ADHD transformed into laser-focused fixation. Though not resolved, I’m able these days to direct my attention outside myself and to exclude cancer … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Biopsy Biopsy, What Do You Show?

Posted on October 30, 2018 by John Swinburn

My moderate fear about the pain of the biopsy procedure was unfounded. Except for the insertion of the IV line. The nurse who did it, Andrew, was abysmal at finding a vein. His multiple attempts were absolutely excruciating. I’m glad … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 1 Comment

Stratosphere

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John Swinburn

Now I’m getting angry. Last Friday, I thought I had finally broken through the clogged pipeline of medical bureaucracy and gotten the biopsy scheduled. It was set for Tuesday, October 30. Tomorrow morning, early. On Friday, I was told to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Health | 1 Comment

Unfocused, on Steroids

Posted on October 29, 2018 by John Swinburn

My thoughts this morning seemed to come out of nowhere. As far as I know, no dream prompted my mind to wander over there. But there it went, off into an abandoned lighthouse on a tiny coastal island inaccessible except … Continue reading →

Posted in Intermittent Journaliing | Leave a comment

Cultural Adjustments

Posted on October 28, 2018 by John Swinburn

Americans tend to overestimate their culture’s superiority and to underestimate the value of other cultures. I think two processes are going on that perpetuate these attitudes. The overestimation of American culture is, I believe, trained into us. We are told … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Leave a comment