Author Archives: John Swinburn

About John Swinburn

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

A contemporaneous record of an odd and horrible dream

It’s Friday morning at 3:30 am and I just awoke from a horrific dream.  Here is what I remember: The incident from which I awoke involved a woman I know who, in the dream, had just been involved in selecting … Continue reading

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No Light

Politics is becoming an increasingly vile, disreputable, dangerous business.  I watch political candidates and their surrogates attack one another with no regard to core issues.  They attack with the sole purpose of drawing blood, hurting their opponents, tricking their constituents … Continue reading

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The Walk

Long before the alarm goes off at 4:41 a.m., I wonder whether I will get back to sleep.  I turn over restlessly, shifting positions in the hope that sleep will come again quickly.  I’ve only been in bed for four … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Walking | 1 Comment

About the Heart

Several years before I met my wife, when she was in her early twenties, she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, also called heart failure or congestive heart failure.   The cause was likely related to some sort of viral infection, but … Continue reading

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New Orleans: Mostly a Food Experience

My sister-in-law came to visit on September 2, arriving just after 5:00 in the afternoon.  My wife and I had talked to her about coming to visit; we’d all decided a road trip to New Orleans was the thing to … Continue reading

Posted in Food, Travel | 2 Comments

All Talk

I keep coming back to it:  I find religion in general and churches in particular repugnant in many ways, but I admire and appreciate the ability of churches to marshall the resources of their members to do good things.  You … Continue reading

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Ancient Eyes

I walked again this morning, just a tad more than 4.6 miles.  I fumbled with my keys for what seemed like a full minute as I felt my way in the darkness for the knob and then the deadbolt to … Continue reading

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Food Freak

I had planned on going to lunch with a friend yesterday, to a place called Flying Saucer.  Flying Saucer is a beer emporium, a place where beer is, almost literally, worshipped.  I join my friend periodically at the place near my house, … Continue reading

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Foundation

To the extent that I have acquired any wisdom during the course of my life thus far, which is highly debatable, it has been acquired through good luck and good people, as opposed to having grown from any innate capacity. This … Continue reading

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