Monthly Archives: November 2014

Mistakes

Posted on November 6, 2014 by John Swinburn

I want to be free to make mistakes, but I don’t want to put them on public display. I want to be able to experiment with things I desire to do but have not done, without the spectacle of laughing crowds. … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking | 2 Comments

November 6: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 6, 2014 by John Swinburn

At some point, if you’re not a sculptor, you have to admit to yourself you’re not a sculptor. You can wish and hope and promise you’ll be a good boy if things would just be different, but it does no … Continue reading →

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November 5: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 5, 2014 by John Swinburn

“Prisms refract light in much the same way prisons refract life.” I wrote that a few months ago, but it has added meaning today, the day after a conservative wave swept over the land. The worsening political landscape can be seen either … Continue reading →

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The Cotton Sweeper

Posted on November 4, 2014 by John Swinburn

I stopped alongside the highway, where a man appeared to be raking or sweeping between rows in a small cotton patch about half the size of a football field.  He saw me pull the car over to the side of the road … Continue reading →

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November 4: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 4, 2014 by John Swinburn

We value variety in all aspects of our lives, yet we covet and fiercely protect our routines. Even in language, we treasure diversity, yet we tend to collect phrases and use them repeatedly, in favor of those less common. There … Continue reading →

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Attempting to Explain

Posted on November 3, 2014 by John Swinburn

Listen. I hear sunlight pounding on the roof.  I hear light from a thousand distant galaxies, rolling like a wave of two percent milk, splashing against the siding of the house.  And I can smell the faint aroma of the Big Bang; like burnt … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Poetry | 2 Comments

November 3: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 3, 2014 by John Swinburn

It’s one of those days that suggest stew and hot soup, helped along with a mug of hot chocolate or a snifter of brandy.  But I’ll have to be satisfied with hot coffee and planning for stew and hot soups, because … Continue reading →

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Beautiful Day

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Swinburn

Art brings people closer, compelling them to think and to consider ideas and perspectives unlike any they had considered before. “What was the artist thinking?” “What does it mean?” “How does this piece of art fit into my view of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Food, Friendship | 3 Comments

Remembering My Sister

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Swinburn

My sister died on February 19, 2010. On the day of her death, I wrote this in another blog, one to which I rarely post anymore: She fed people she didn’t know, she gave up her bed for people who needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking | 2 Comments

November 2: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 2, 2014 by John Swinburn

Think of the struggles of a farmer, facing fierce winters in Minnesota to build a life for himself and his family during the 1850s.  Maybe his name was Olafsen, maybe it was Henriksen, maybe it was something else.  It doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Niña and Pinta and Friends

Posted on November 1, 2014 by John Swinburn

Yesterday was a full day. a drive to Fort Smith, some time examining two near full-size replicas of the Niña and Pinta (and recoiling at the thought of crossing the Atlantic in them), a visit to a very large and … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Philosophy | 1 Comment

November 1: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on November 1, 2014 by John Swinburn

I wonder who first conceived the idea of libraries? That person, if it was just one person, deserves our highest gratitude. The  library is altruism at its very best.

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