Author Archives: John Swinburn

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes

Ethiopian Food and Human Decency

Posted on April 24, 2017 by John Swinburn

I’ve discovered that my wife and I are not the only people around Hot Springs who enjoy Ethiopian food. Recently, I posted a query, to a Facebook group dedicated to Hot Springs area restaurant reviews, about whether my unsuccessful efforts to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Compassion, Food, Philosophy, Politics, Serenity, Stereotypes | 2 Comments

I Rant, UU Rant, We All Rant

Posted on April 23, 2017 by John Swinburn

This morning, I listened to a Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister deliver a message that, depending on one’s perspective, might be considered either uplifting or lodged between belief and infuriating bewilderment. There was nothing wrong with the message, nor the mode of … Continue reading →

Posted in Rant | Leave a comment

Computer Politics

Posted on April 23, 2017 by John Swinburn

I have an idea for a story. A team of computer scientists conducts an experiment which programs 535 networked computers to analyze input and make collective “decisions” based on the information. One hundred of the computers are designated “senators” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Leave a comment

Contestable

Posted on April 22, 2017 by John Swinburn

Today, I submitted seven entries for writing contests being held in conjunction with the Arkansas Writers’ Conference. I had promised myself I would submit at least three entries, so I managed to surpass my self-commitment by a substantial margin. Of … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Leave a comment

Allegation of Criminality

Posted on April 20, 2017 by John Swinburn

We sometimes keep meaningless records longer than necessary. Much longer than necessary. As my wife was going through some old papers this morning in preparation for shredding paperwork we no longer need, she came upon a folder with records of … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking | Leave a comment

Rejection

Posted on April 20, 2017 by John Swinburn

Rejection is a gift, because it erases unearned pride and self-importance. Rejection is a gift because it offers opportunities to repair things that are broken, things that led to the very rejection that revealed the brokenness. Rejection is a gift … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Unclothed

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Swinburn

Turn around and see the remains of wishes, withering and melting in smoke and ashes, transforming desire into unfulfilled dreams. There, on the floor, the clothes of hope wallow in despair, restless in the realization that desire is clad not … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Refuge

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Swinburn

I walk through walls of hatred like they were fog banks, smashing bars and barriers of iron and steel as if they were but ribbons of smoke, skirting the edges of one dimension and grasping the fringes of another. If this … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Just in Case

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Swinburn

Despite my string of one-off posts that do nothing but wash my reputation in hideousness, I am back, just shy of five o’clock in the morning, ready to do battle with good taste again. I awoke in a worse mood … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lima

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Swinburn

Lima Struck was sixteen years old when her parents died in a fire she set. She claimed she did not aim to kill them, only to force them to find a new home more suited to her tastes. The fact that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Noise

Posted on April 19, 2017 by John Swinburn

I listened. All I heard was noise. Noise emanating from idiots. What else could I hear? It was Donald Trump and his minions, drunk with power and anesthetized with stupidity. That’s unkind, isn’t it? That shoves people into little boxes … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Kittens

Posted on April 18, 2017 by John Swinburn

Three kittens walked slowly but deliberately through a pasture filled with angry, menacing dogs. A Doberman Pinscher raced across the field, snarling and growling and baring its teeth, stopping only inches from the kittens. The kittens walked on, unperturbed by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdist Fantasy | Leave a comment

Your Love

Posted on April 17, 2017 by John Swinburn

Breaking the rules doesn’t always translate into thuggery. Sometimes, it’s simply an expression of fear. Or anger. Or wishful thinking so soulful and painful that anger is the only relevant and meaningful expression. I wish I broke the rules. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Just Breakfast

Posted on April 17, 2017 by John Swinburn

If this were a just world, I would have some form of curry for breakfast this morning. Something fiery to tantalize my tongue and awaken the sleeping creative beast buried deep inside my brain. But, alas, this is an unjust … Continue reading →

Posted in Food | 1 Comment

Broken Promises

Posted on April 16, 2017 by John Swinburn

I did it again. I sat outside on the deck, staring up at the sky. The stars and planets, again, transfixed me and held me in a state bordering between awe and confusion and deep appreciation for mysteries beyond my capacity … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Leave a comment

Tonight

Posted on April 15, 2017 by John Swinburn

I spent enough time out on the deck tonight, looking up at the stars, to know the universe in which we live is beyond comprehension. Humankind invented gods in an attempt to understand the complexity and vastness of this world … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Revelations in Raw Reality

Posted on April 13, 2017 by John Swinburn

Kisses hide broken promises and muddled dreams, working hard to muffle life’s little detours, roads down which no one ever expected to travel.

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Border

Posted on April 13, 2017 by John Swinburn

A couple of days ago, I walked through the Border Cantos exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  By the time we were about to leave the exhibit, I was an emotional wreck. I could not walk out … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, History | Leave a comment

Drifting Through a State of Mind

Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Swinburn

Approximately four hours after we left Hot Springs Village, we arrived in Bentonville/Rogers. First stop was a furniture store whose website advertised that they carry the Mostly Danish Furniture brand of home furnishings. The sales staff and management did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

Monuments…

Posted on April 10, 2017 by John Swinburn

My wedding anniversary approaches. In a matter of days, my wife and I will have been married for  thirty-seven years. We will have lived together for between thirty-eight and forty years by then (I don’t recall precisely when we began “living in … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking | Leave a comment

Ambiguity

Posted on April 9, 2017 by John Swinburn

A light breeze washes away faint sounds of leaves brushing against the sky, spent whispers urging, in hushed voices, gentleness and purity. But the dead leaves on the ground and the humus teeming with ravenous creatures bent on sating their appetites … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

Autos and the Population Density of Vultures

Posted on April 8, 2017 by John Swinburn

I have, for years, wondered whether the advent of automobiles and the roads to carry them contribute to the population of vultures and other carrion-eaters. This question emerges from observations of vast numbers of corpses of dead animals killed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Cars, Nature, Science | Leave a comment

Just a Dream

Posted on April 5, 2017 by John Swinburn

I have a vision. It is that Donald Trump flies to Tehran on Air Force One and is met by a gaggle of people he assumes are U.S. diplomatic employees, anxious to welcome him as he resumes full diplomatic ties with … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy | Leave a comment

Avoidance

Posted on April 4, 2017 by John Swinburn

Yesterday, I ordered samples of several products that, if their promises hold, could transform the appearance of our fireplace and, perhaps, the look of the brick on our house. As I wrote a few days ago, I was considering putting … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking | Leave a comment

2260

Posted on April 3, 2017 by John Swinburn

This post is number 2260, hence the title. Why didn’t I call attention to a more “rational” number, like 2250? Frankly, I did not notice. Why I noticed that my last post was number 2259, I have no idea. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction | Leave a comment