Category Archives: Uncategorized

Depression has stalked me intermittently over the years, although I usually tend to deny I am depressed. I remember a time, about fourteen years ago, when a friend suggested to me that I was in the midst of what she … Continue reading →

I had hoped and expected the chemotherapy regimen would have concluded by now, but my blood continues to be quite low on magnesium. So, at least four of five “work-days” this week will include a visit to the oncologist’s office, … Continue reading →

Disarray describes my desk. It’s not laziness that keeps me from organizing the piles of paper and assorted odds and ends littering my office. Lethargy, a non-blood cousin, is responsible. In my opinion, lethargy does not suggest apathy or indifference. … Continue reading →

A drink of cool water—before making espresso, before swallowing a handful of pills, before feeding the cat, before thinking about and then deciding to ignore a few dishes left in the sink overnight—welcomes me to pre-dawn darkness. We are fortunate … Continue reading →

My oncologist’s smile yesterday was a delight—she appeared genuinely happy to report to me the results of my Wednesday PET-scan. Although the cancer remains in evidence, the scan revealed that its presence was greatly diminished. Her follow-up written report, posted … Continue reading →

Last night, we spent a few hours with a friend. The three of us enjoyed the wonderful dinner she made and delivered; a spectacular casserole, homemade bread, an exquisite dish of pears and cheese, and wine. The meal and conversation … Continue reading →

The tornado that skipped and ripped through Hot Springs Village on the evening of March 14 was classified as an EF-2—relatively weak but strong enough to snap power poles, blow down big pine trees, break massive limbs from huge oaks, … Continue reading →

A few days ago, when I received my regular premium notice for my car insurance, I was surprised to see a significant increase. Though the figure was small in absolute dollars, it was enough of a bump to catch my … Continue reading →

Expectations of a week relatively free of doctor visits were dashed yesterday afternoon when I got a call from my oncologist’s office, informing me that I need to return for three more visits this week. I will return for two … Continue reading →

For breakfast this morning, I ate a pomelo and a grapefruit mi novia bought a a few days ago. The pomelo, with its thick rind and its rather bland flavor was not especially good. But the small grapefruit (much smaller … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s insight service at church consisted of a screening of a documentary film entitled, Join or Die. Based on the research that led to Robert Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone, the marketing tag line for the film is “A film about … Continue reading →

Several of the clocks in the house either have been adjusted or adjusted themselves overnight, reacting to the admonition that most U.S. residents’ clocks “spring forward.” Daylight saving time (DST) has a long, convoluted history—one insufficiently interesting to me to … Continue reading →

People who speak a language other than their native tongue are to be admired. But yesterday, when I called the foreign bank (with a domestic US headquarters office) to attempt to renew a CD I originally bought online, my admiration … Continue reading →

I sit here, letting fluids and medications flow through the port in my chest. A vitamin B-12 shot in my upper arm was a new experience…I think. Too many stabs and jabs to remember. I have been weak and tired … Continue reading →

On rare occasion, I feel a slight tightness in my chest. It always dissipates within a few hours, a day at most, but during the time I feel the pressure I worry that it could be something worth being concerned … Continue reading →

Another mostly sleepless night, when I would have expected to be made sufficiently tired by last Thursday’s chemotherapy to sleep soundly for hours and hours. Perhaps I will fall fast asleep during the day. I hope so. In the interim, … Continue reading →

My brother who lives in Dayton will be appalled to learn that I had white chicken chili (with cannellini beans) for dinner last night—and it was exceptionally good! A true believer in the singular authenticity of beef-only red Texas chili, … Continue reading →

One of the reasons I often do not feel confident or competent when developing fictional characters who are stereotypically masculine males is that their personalities do not reside in me. The only aspect of their personalities that may mirror components … Continue reading →

I go in for another chemotherapy treatment today. Less than four hours from now. Every time I go in, I have new questions—or old questions I forgot to ask. Before I settled in to write this post, I typed eleven … Continue reading →

Unlike physical pain, emotional injuries are abstractions. They consist of interpretations of intellectual encounters. They express one’s understanding of experience through a unique filter. They are responses to circumstances—mental acrobatics driven by unseen forces. Though they arise from the imagination, … Continue reading →

Clearly, all of us have lost our minds. There is no question about it. We go about our days as if there is nothing wrong with electing drunk, rabid alligators to manage our country’s affairs. The solution, of course, is … Continue reading →

Gmail has about 1.5 billion users worldwide, according to Statistica. If a post on X (Twitter) had been proven to be legitimate (but, fortunately, the post was bogus), those users’ accounts would have disappeared with the closure of Gmail in … Continue reading →

My intentions this morning were smothered in sleep. I woke late, giving myself so little time to get ready for church that I opted to stay home and view the service online. But not long after waking and having coffee … Continue reading →

He would have turned 14 next month, but Flaco died before reaching that birthday. His last year of life was the only year he experienced freedom, courtesy of a vandal who shredded the wire mesh of his cage in the … Continue reading →

The last printed edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was “the 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages.” Though the resource continues now exclusively online, the cessation of the print version marked a significant acknowledgement … Continue reading →