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Author Archives: John Swinburn
Screaming Radio
Several times last night and in the wee hours of this morning, the screaming NOAA weather radio jolted us awake. First, around 9:00 p.m., came an announcement of the issuance a flash-flood warning for Garland County, where we live. Then, around 11:30 … Continue reading
Posted in Weather
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Different Circumstances
What would life have delivered to me had I spoken to my mother in Spanish? How would the world treat me differently if I bathed in a river and washed my clothes on a rock? Where would I have learned to read if … Continue reading
Posted in Compassion
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One Hundred Thirty-One
Just say what you feel, to the right person, and you’ll feel better about the way you feel about the right person.
Posted in Ruminations
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An Invitation to Lewd and Lascivious Behavior
My post about the local writers’ event at which I will read tomorrow got me thinking, which is not always a good thing. I will admit to a bit of indignation at something that probably doesn’t deserve a moment of my … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy, Rant, Writing
3 Comments
Writers Read
I will be among nineteen writers who will read from their work tomorrow at a public event that lures people in with free wine and hors d’oeuvre. Writers know how to get an audience! I’ve considered starting a sub-club and … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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One Hundred Thirty
It is not outside the realm of possibility that a mass extinction, like that of the dinosaur, will claim humanity in the foreseeable future. Should that occur, I suspect a new form of “intelligent” life will evolve to recapture the … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
1 Comment
A Curious Experience
Why would eight to ten grey-bearded men gather in a conference room of a public library? What commonality, aside from their beards, could cause them to assemble around a conference table, nary a smile visible behind those masculine mops? Those questions … Continue reading
Posted in Absurdist Fantasy, Writing
2 Comments
One Hundred Twenty-Nine
I should have trusted the process of my suppositions when I heard what I first thought was a mourning dove, then decided was an owl, and finally figured might be a roadrunner. But, no, I went back to the idea it … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Thinking of Spiders
I speak a thousand tongues and understand the rest. Fluent in their languages, I communicate with spiders and birds and walruses. I hear grass grow before it breaks the surface of the soil, though the sound competes with the noise of … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking, Nature, Philosophy
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One Hundred Twenty-Eight
Vague responses to imprecise questions muddy our understanding of things about which we already know little.
Posted in Ruminations
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Listening and Looking
In the interest of serenity, I am sitting on my screened porch, listening to bird calls and songs. I recognize the sounds, but can connect only a few to the birds making them. I hear a mourning dove, a tufted … Continue reading
Posted in Nature, Serenity
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Seduction
Seductions are, by nature, slow. They do not swirl into a life and grab the subject of the seduction by the throat and whisk that person away. Rather, they slide in through a door left ajar, hiding behind curtains until the … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Writing
1 Comment
One Hundred Twenty-Seven
The darkest place is the place with no hope, the place with no springboard to better thoughts or ideas. Once you stumble into that dark place, it’s hard to find a way out; you need someone to show you the … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Kneeling in Pain
When I bend down on my knees, I can’t do it the way normal people do. I have to place something soft, with plenty of cushion, under my knees or they wail in excruciating pain. Hearing the blood-curdling screams of knees that … Continue reading
Posted in Aging
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Cinco de Mayo Party
Last night, we hosted our First Annual Cinco de Mayo Party, using an “Americanized” version of a Mexican holiday with limited Mexican recognition as an excuse to throw a party. Twenty-two of us enjoyed tacos, chips and salsas, jicama slaw, margaritas, … Continue reading
Posted in Parties
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One Hundred Twenty-Six
Every morning I awaken to possibilities that only I control— if I control them. I make the choice to either mold the day into what I want it to be or let it wash over me. The key is that I know I am … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Party Favors
I am the party favor, breaking the ice and easing the tensions. There had been no discussion of my serving in that capacity, yet turning down the invitation was out of the question, inasmuch as it wasn’t an invitation; it was … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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One Hundred Twenty-Five
Yesterday’s twenty-eight degree spread between temperature high and low was a stark reminder of the fact that summer is coming. That same spread, though, demonstrated that comfort slides in during the night, giving us a welcome greeting as we start … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Art is Light
The last few days, my “art” of writing has taken back seat to other arts: acting, directing, set design, glass blowing, wood turning, pottery, et al. On Saturday, while my wife and her sister enjoyed a sculpture tour of Hot … Continue reading
Posted in Art
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One Hundred Twenty-Four
A friend began writing her memoir, set in the future looking back, this morning. Creativity is an amazing thing; she asked me to read what she’s written and I was stunned with its honesty and creativity and depth of emotion. … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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Oh, Please, Make Them Go Away
I just read a news article that reported on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s order to the Texas State Guard to monitor a Navy SEAL/Green Beret joint training exercise (Operation Jade Helm). Apparently, right-wing militia conspiracy theorists convinced the Governor the exercises are a … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Rant
1 Comment
Race and an Ancient Artifact
Issues of race and class had become impossible to ignore. Public policy forbidding discrimination clearly failed, viewed as it was as an attempt to legislate morality, which clearly fell within the purview of the church—which church, of course, depended on … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Writing
2 Comments
One Hundred Twenty-Three
The blood of all the innocents killed or left to die in the hot and cold wars of the last twenty centuries rained down in sheets, drowning their murderers who wallowed in sanguinary luxury.
Posted in Ruminations
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And It Does
Our neighbors drove the three of us (my wife, my sister-in-law, and me) to Hot Springs for the First Friday Gallery Walk last night. The guy is an accomplished artist in his own right; their house is flush with his … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Writing
2 Comments
One Hundred Twenty-Two
Explore the flavors of foods, even unappealing foods. If you give yourself enough time to relish the experience of flavors, you will find yourself drawn to subtle differences in tastes and textures. Foods once dismissed as off-putting or bland will take … Continue reading
Posted in Ruminations
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