Category Archives: Just Thinking

When people who matter go through difficult times, time slows to an excruciating crawl. That slow-motion experience emphasizes the importance of “being there.” Even if one’s support or assistance is not needed, one’s availability matters, I think. That’s what’s on … Continue reading →

I’m looking out the big windows in my “tree house room” into a sky washed in muted blue and grey and white clouds. Huge limbs block pieces of the sky. Leaves that will, a few months hence, fall as brown … Continue reading →

Last night, during a break from watching the CNN town hall with the Libertarian candidates for President and Vice President, I wrote a bizarre post on Facebook, expecting it to generate a flood of comments questioning my sanity. Sadly, only … Continue reading →

“We all make mistakes.” That phrase acknowledges error with the gift of forgiveness. But it provides only a single absolution of transgression; it is not a coupon valid for repeat offenses.

I borrow from what I read, what I hear, and from what I previously wrote about the world around me. I borrow ideas, opinions, and emotions. Hell, I borrow sensations of pleasure and pain from people who, intentionally or not, share them … Continue reading →

How charming, my belief that I had—with virtually no effort—overcome the jet lag of returning home from France. I thought getting up at 6:00 a.m. Saturday, staying awake for the entire series of flights from Marseille to Little Rock, and … Continue reading →

This is what a happy man looks like. So, if you do not look like this,logic tells me you’re not a happy man. That, my friends, is irrefutable logic.

Television news in Europe differs from U.S. television news in many ways. It’s not just the language, but there’s that, of course. Aside from that, there’s the unvarnished stories, the facts clear and undistorted by concerns about upsetting sensitive viewers. … Continue reading →

The next three weeks, more or less, promise opportunities for new experiences; diversity of thought, perspectives, and attitude. If I am the man I hope I am, I will absorb disparate viewpoints, treating them as the beacons of wisdom they … Continue reading →

I asked Father Facebook (not to be confused with Father Google) whether I should let my hair continue to grow in spite of its annoying habit of getting in my eyes, thereby driving me crazy, or cut it. Fickle Father … Continue reading →

Yesterday afternoon, during a conversation with a friend about her interest in pursuing an advanced degree in fine arts, I had an epiphany of sorts. I came to realize I am not satisfied in retirement. I am not ready to … Continue reading →

We’re taught to live by the rules. We observe as society sanctions people who break them. We watch those who deviate from the course judged appropriate by society suffer the consequences of nonconformity. Parents and teachers and churches and friends … Continue reading →

Imagine, if you will, that your life took a radically different turn years ago. Imagine how the arc of your existence would differ had you chosen a different path. Let me be clear, though. I am not asking you to … Continue reading →

My plans for Saturday—just two days ago—were dashed when I awoke and picked up my eyeglasses. Actually, I picked up only half the pair; the other half remained on the bedside table. The metal frame had broken at a weld … Continue reading →

This is a revised version of Cameron Bay, a short story that won some contest or another a year or so ago. I was generally satisfied with it when I wrote it, but I am not a fan of love … Continue reading →

You will, I believe, one day acknowledge me as the creator of a new emotion, one that combines the attractive friction of sandpaper with the slickness of fish oil on a wet pane of polished glass. This emotion, which I call contempathy©®, … Continue reading →

The title of this post constitutes advice to myself. It’s an admonition that I too often fail to follow. But I take the exhortation seriously, because rooting about for answers about even “certainties” can rapidly lead to knowledge and, ultimately, wisdom. … Continue reading →

I thought I’d written about the relationship between the odor of coffee and the scent of skunk spray before, but a search of this blog turns up nothing. Perhaps I wrote about the link on another blog. Regardless, I’m writing … Continue reading →