Category Archives: Uncategorized

Inner peace. Where does one go to find it? I’m not someone with experience in the elusive object of our aspiration, but I’ve read quite a lot about it. After reading and thinking about how people embrace tranquility so fully … Continue reading →

At 5:33 a.m. this morning, I learned about a company called Mopec, an organization founded in 1922. The firm sells all manner of American-made medical equipment and laboratory products to the pathology, histology, necropsy, autopsy, and mortuary industries. Among those … Continue reading →

Hypnic Jerks I experience, with some regularity, something I have come to be believe (as of yesterday afternoon) are hypnic jerks, involuntary muscle contractions that some people experience as they are falling asleep. These involuntary spasms also are known as … Continue reading →

Like clockwork. Fortunately, I went to bed very early again (around 9), so I got a few hours sleep before cramps and insomnia conspired to wake me. At my brother’s suggestion, I drank tonic water to ward off cramps; apparently … Continue reading →

Mugs. Lots of mugs. Fifty of them, more or less. Many of them mementos of our travels over the years. The first time we hung this enormous mug rack (the photo captures only a tiny piece of it) was when … Continue reading →

It’s nearing 5 o’clock in the morning. I’ve been awake for hours, having been ripped from a fitful sleep by horrific cramps in both my legs, beginning sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. The first time, the cramps resolved themselves … Continue reading →

At some point, it becomes obvious. “I’ll get back to you” becomes an unfulfilled promise. Sure, there are reasons. But they’re never especially strong. Certainly not strong enough to merit trust. Believing them. Accepting them. And, so, you move on. … Continue reading →

A friend was to have arrived today, planning to stay several days. But her elderly dog got sick, so she had to postpone the trip. And, then, a wine tasting a nearby couple had planned for later this week had … Continue reading →

I distinctly remember, when I was young and learning about management and supervision, being taught that “your employees are not your friends!” The message was that one should not allow one’s relationships with employees to become too casual for “obvious” … Continue reading →

I read a question on Quora, which asked whether octopuses might ever evolve into sapient creatures. An answer—suggested as the “best” one—said it would be impossible because of the short life-span and mating practices of the creature. The original question, … Continue reading →

It’s a shade after 3:10 a.m. I’ve just now finished my shower and made my first cup of coffee. I thought, when I got out of bed, it was nearing 5:00 a.m. I was wrong. I jumped in the shower … Continue reading →

Scattered scraps of translucent grey clouds blur the hills and valleys behind my house this morning. Bright pink and orange tufts of cumulus clouds—the only evidence of sunrise except for a brightening sky—tower far above me, barely visible above the … Continue reading →

I’m just too depressed to write anything other than depressing thoughts this morning. I don’t know the source of this bleakness, but I know writing will only make it worse. Writing tends to draw darkness out of me, though that … Continue reading →

I’ve sanded and scraped and painted (with at least one coat of paint) roughly one half of the deck. Yesterday, I started late. I had forgotten I had arranged for a visit by the pest control guy. About the time … Continue reading →

Yesterday, my wife and I went to Little Rock for lunch. We revised our intended destination, The Fold: Botanas & Bar, when we stopped for gas at a Kroger gas station. We both got out of the car and commented … Continue reading →

Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better. That aphorism, easy to dismiss as a frivolous adage, is absolutely true. And it applies not only to complaining about yesterday but about tomorrow and about our expectations for the … Continue reading →

I went to bed very early last night, around 9:00 p.m. I fell asleep almost immediately and slept soundly until around 1:00 a.m. Sleep came in fits and starts for the rest of the night; fifteen minutes here, ten minutes … Continue reading →

I don’t know when I last felt so utterly hopeless. Tonight, I feel like I can do nothing to salvage the world. I can do nothing to prevent humanity’s slide into chaotic oblivion, punctuated by race wars and class wars … Continue reading →

We went to another World Tour of Wine dinner last night. The wines and menu were, so they said, Chilean. I can vouch for the wines, inasmuch as I saw the labels on the bottles and tasted their contents. I … Continue reading →

Reality depends on one’s perspective. Summer runs from June through August for me. But for someone in Australia, summer starts is December through February. Both are real, but my reality’s context is sharply different from an Australian’s. The physical differences … Continue reading →

People in Western culture, I think (and I’m not alone), don’t really believe they’re going to die one day. They comprehend it on an intellectual level, but the end of existence is not a reality with which we can engage … Continue reading →

Some friends are spending a couple of weeks in Michigan on a house-sitting assignment. They are taking advantage of their time their to visit Saugatuck, Traverse City, and a flock of other cities and towns on and around Lake Michigan. … Continue reading →

Why is it that women, in general, are more interesting than men, in general? Why is it that women tend to be unafraid of being silly and emotional, whereas men tend to avoid being silly for fear of looking silly? … Continue reading →

After the fact, I berate myself for having failed to soak my feet, ankles, and legs with Deep Woods Off. I curse the laziness responsible for the absence of insect repellent around my belt line. And I express displeasure at … Continue reading →

Daydreams—call them fantasies if you like—keep a person fresh. Those reveries paint pictures in our minds of an environment in which we exercise control of the world around us. They allow us to be bold, daring, adventuresome; without fear of … Continue reading →