Author Archives: John Swinburn

Florida needs significant emergency aid to begin recovering from Hurricane Ian. I am confident aid will come, soon, from the federal government. I wish there could be a way to ensure that DeSantis does not get credit for the assistance … Continue reading →

When I woke up this morning, my body acted as if it was supposed to repeat my experience from yesterday. Almost all of my body was sore; elbows, wrists, neck, knees, ankles, lower back, hands, shoulders, clavicles, etc., etc. I … Continue reading →

Today, my mother’s birthday, I will think about a flower—a yellow rose—that was her favorite. And I will try to remember some of the cherished moments I spent with her before she died thirty-six years ago. Recollections of time spent … Continue reading →

The housing market seems to be not nearly as robust as it was just a few months ago, at least not in areas I have been following off and on. Hot Springs Village seems to be losing a little of … Continue reading →

Well, the site is up…at least temporarily. Apparently, there is some kind of glitch with a “plugin” that I use to make the site easier for me to manage and for the visitor to comment, “like,” and otherwise engage with … Continue reading →

I am too tired to think. Too tired to write anything of consequence. Not physically tired. Just worn out, mentally. Tired of trying to understand the world I have created. Too tired to attempt to make sense of chaos. Exhausted … Continue reading →

I woke several times last night and this morning, once around 2:00 a.m. when I heard an odd repetitive noise I thought was an alarm emanating from my computer. When I got up, I discovered it was a strange car … Continue reading →

Ever since I experienced problems with a WordPress “plugin” that prevented the distribution by emails of notifications of new posts, the number of readers of my blog has dropped dramatically. I think readers who rely on receiving notice about new … Continue reading →

I read this morning that pieces of sculpture created by Brad Pitt are on display in Tampere, Finland until mid-January next year. Though I do not doubt that Pitt’s considerable artistic talent played a significant role in the decision by … Continue reading →

It was not quite a whim, but neither was it a plan long in the making. Yesterday, we attended the Sunday service of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady. Coincidentally, yesterday was the UUSS in-gathering, also known to the members … Continue reading →

Poetry can do a lot of things to people. I mean it can improve your imagination. It can take you to new places. It can give you this incredible form of verbal pleasure. ~ Billy Collins ~ +++ It’s odd, … Continue reading →

Here I sit, in a motel in Ashtabula, Ohio, roughly sixty miles east of Cleveland. This motel room is tiny, in comparison to the apartment-sized place in South Bend. That apartment had separate living area, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen; full-sized … Continue reading →

I used to listen to a program on National Public Radio called “This I Believe.”  If it were still being produced, I might offer to write and read something for the program. It might go something like this. Stress can … Continue reading →

Yesterday was a surprise. Decorah, Iowa struck me as the “Mayberry” I’ve been looking for. A beautiful small town with a vibrant, appealing downtown. The town boasts a Unitarian Universalist congregation and a Democratic party headquarters (that share space). A … Continue reading →

Another day. Another precious day. +++ We thought yesterday we might head to Door County, Wisconsin. Or Madison, Wisconsin or the Milwaukee area or Spring Green. Instead, we wandered along the border between Iowa and Illinois, taking the Great River … Continue reading →

We spent last night in Burlington, Iowa. Had we known, we might have hurried to get here several days earlier to experience the Wake ‘n Bake Delicious Dolls’ Drag Brunch. But, no, we got here two days late. The next … Continue reading →

Last night, we stayed in another Hampton Inn, this one in the northeast corner of Kansas City, Missouri, near Worlds of Fun Village and Oceans of Fun Village. We did not explore either Village, which appear to be components of … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s weather grew cooler and wetter as we made our way from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, heading toward and through the Flint Hills of Kansas. We got as far as Council Grove, on our way to Manhattan, Kansas, when we hit a … Continue reading →

Doors in the motel hallway slam shut, announcing strangers’ departure and alerting me to strangers’ inconsiderate behavior. Those slamming doors do not awaken me, but they raise my hackles. But, what if those doors slammed by accident? Would I retain … Continue reading →

Five years ago, I began writing what I had hoped would become either a solid short story or, if my creativity and stamina would cooperate, a full-fledged novel. Needless to say, the story did not hold my interest long enough … Continue reading →

  I expect my treadmill to arrive this afternoon or early evening. I ordered it online a number of weeks ago, but like so many other consumer products, it was a victim of bottlenecks of manufacturer or distribution or both. … Continue reading →

Dim, grey light filters through the trees. The dimness diminishes with each passing minute, replaced by a slightly brighter sky behind the branches. The distant glow above the horizon grows in intensity, offsetting the loss of darkness with a deepening … Continue reading →

Distant thunder. The sound is far enough from me, and faint enough, that it may be my imagination rattling around in my head. But I think it’s thunder. Thunder, a thousand miles away, clutching at the clouds that bind it … Continue reading →

Sadness—deep, intractable, incurable heartache or grief or overwhelming sorrow—provides an endless supply of content for writers. That reality gives rise to the question as to whether sadness propels people to become writers or whether writing is symptomatic of a profound, … Continue reading →

The computer claims the outside temperature is 66°F right now; that would be delightful, except that the humidity is 92%. A few moments ago, I went outside to experience 66°F at 92% humidity. I expected the experience to be somewhat … Continue reading →