Author Archives: John Swinburn

Once you start asking questions, innocence is gone. ~ Mary Astor ~ +++ The complexity of existence is beyond my comprehension. A grain of sand on a Gulf of Mexico beach may be completely different from one on a beach … Continue reading →

Writing poetry, except poems that erupt unexpectedly and inexplicably from one’s mind, often requires much deeper thought than simple narrative language.  When poems are being written, especially poems that use words sparingly, they ask us to try to strip away … Continue reading →

As far as I know, I do not have a history of grinding my teeth. But that habit—or tendency or whatever—seems to have taken hold in recent weeks. It may not be full-on grinding; maybe just clenching my jaws. Whatever … Continue reading →

Although my chemotherapy sessions and blood-letting (known euphemistically as “labs”) and conversation with the oncology staff) generally last in the neighborhood of only four hours, Poison-Pump-Thursdays consume essentially my entire day. And, of course, mi novia‘s days are similarly committed. … Continue reading →

Polished fools who project confidence can fool fools and—we only hope—only fools. +++ So much can happen in fourteen years. Lives can change. Lives can end. A once-powerful body can deteriorate into a shadow of its former self. Middle age … Continue reading →

Whether a habit, a self-imposed obligation, or a response to the real or imagined expectations created by my own routines, I feel compelled to write for this blog every morning. When—for whatever reason—I do not, I feel a sense of … Continue reading →

Far from the intrusive nighttime lights from clusters of human populations, it is possible to look back in time. On moonless, cloudless nights, the sky appears black and empty except for thousands of tiny white specks. Some of the light … Continue reading →

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. ~ Psalm 23:4 ~ The Bible and its companions permeate … Continue reading →

There was a time when differentiating between truth and lies was possible. One could readily tell news and propaganda apart, too. But when entertainment entered the mix, the willing suspension of disbelief began to creep into judgments between fact and … Continue reading →

Regulations, which usually attempt to establish formal societal expectations/demands relating to conduct, sometimes overreach their intentions. By trying to address all possible deviations from acceptable behaviors, regulations can be so prescriptive and/or so restrictive that they unintentionally stifle progress. The … Continue reading →

Journalists are observers. Politicians are participants. Their functions in those roles shift back and forth, though. That is true of everyone. But most people tend toward one or the other. Even—especially—in social settings, people gravitate toward the role in which … Continue reading →

Real emotions arise from experiences—whether real or misremembered or contrived by the mind in its natural state. Artificial emotions arise while processing the effects of artificial stimuli. Whether those two statements are true is open to question. But assuming they, … Continue reading →

According to my computer screen, the sky is overcast and the temperature is 70°F.  The bright blue sky beyond the sun-drenched oak trees and pine trees tells me nothing about the temperature, but argues forcefully that the sky is not … Continue reading →

I have been told I should have a hobby. It’s not the first time I’ve received such advice. I have taken it, too. For a few years, I enjoyed working with clay, making bowls and plates and masks. If someone … Continue reading →

If not for some troublesome human traits—unfortunately widespread—Communism and Socialism might well attain versions of the goal of a classless society. Two of the more common difficult traits, greed and unbridled ambition, prevent achievement of the utopian dream. Genuine idealists … Continue reading →

An article in Business Insider about the prominence of South Asian American children in spelling bees reminded me of my long-held interest in spelling bees. Though I participated in the occasional spelling bee as a elementary school student, I did … Continue reading →

I fell asleep at the keyboard. Dozens of lines of type, with nothing on the screen but repetitive f. This is becoming commonplace. Enough. I will try more sleep.

Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. ~ Eric Hoffer ~ I know only a bit about … Continue reading →

Every so often, fluorescent lime green spots of color appear on the t-shirts and shorts and tennis shoes people wear. Nobody I know, of course, but quite a few strangers who pass me on the street or in stores or … Continue reading →

There is no reasonable explanation for the dream, in which I clung precariously to the front of a small airplane that was piloted by someone I did not know. But I knew of him; he had been tasked with teaching … Continue reading →

The third consecutive day without even a single lengthy nap—and without feeling weak and a bit feeble—did not sustain itself through last night. Five hours after going to bed early, I woke with nausea, which worsened and led me to … Continue reading →

Outside in the darkness, night creatures have spent roughly the last hour wrapping up their evening prowls in preparation for the coming day. Dawn, also called Civil Dawn, is the time in the morning when the sun is 6 degrees … Continue reading →

So many obviously staged “good deed videos” appear on Facebook that I usually bypass them. Still, every now and then a new one comes along that is not as blatantly manufactured to gather “clicks.” After my eyes water and my … Continue reading →

I cursed the transition from Winter to Spring; not for the weather, but for the clothes. Buying men’s clothes, as I’m sure I ranted about in the past, is a nightmare. I’ve spent many months losing weight, which meant I … Continue reading →

Just a shade more than two years ago, we sat in a spa on the wooden deck outside our resort room, soaking in the heat of the swirling water and feeling the cool wind blowing in off the Pacific. I … Continue reading →