Author Archives: John Swinburn

Opinion: The light that illuminates the world tends, for soulmates, to be refracted through the same prism. A soulmate is “a person with whom one has a strong affinity, shared values and tastes…” or “a person who shares a deep … Continue reading →

A collection of a few pocket knives hidden away in a seldom opened drawer tells the same story as a larger collection of unicorn figurines stored in boxes. The story is repeated by an even larger collection of wine glasses, … Continue reading →

We know less today than we will know tomorrow, but there are never enough tomorrows to learn all we do not know today. That fact can be cause either for complaint or for celebration. It is a choice we make, … Continue reading →

When the forest looks bleak and drab, something obviously is amiss with the world. The problem, of course, is that there is no sure way to determine what causes that hazy, muddy, muted dimness. It is the same sky, the … Continue reading →

“Damn the torpedoes, Full speed ahead!” That famous quotation was uttered in August 1864, long before torpedoes as we now know them were created. At the time, mines were known as torpedoes. One of the squadron of ships David Glasgow … Continue reading →

I sometimes feel like the world is decaying and crumbling around me—even when, at the same time, I recognize how incredibly fortunate I am in so many ways. I find it hard to square those two competing sensations. It is … Continue reading →

The world confuses me. In one moment, the ugliness of war and humankind’s degradation of the planet appall me and make me ashamed to be a member of the human race; the next, I am in love with the magic … Continue reading →

Our air conditioner stopped working sometime during the night. The temperature in the house as of 4:00 a.m. was 81°F. No doubt the temperature indoors will continue to rise after daybreak. Today’s high temperature outdoors is predicted to reach 104°F. … Continue reading →

Replacement glass for one of the church’s front doors was delivered to the church yesterday morning, as promised. But, like the sheet of glass delivered a few weeks ago, this one, again, did not fit. It was too tall; the … Continue reading →

Much of my afternoon yesterday was needlessly wasted. In response, I ate too much pizza. Any pizza is, for me, too much, so I’ll rephrase that: I ate far, far, far too much pizza; enough too much that I should … Continue reading →

Keeping an open mind is demanding. It requires a willingness to suppress one’s own strongly-held opinions and innate bigotry. And it requires being patient while information is uncovered and analyzed, so that facts can be verified and their meaning can … Continue reading →

Nearly everyone has heard the story about the cobbler’s children having no shoes. But what about the one about the barefoot cobbler? Do you know that story? No? Well let me explain. The cobbler’s feet hurt and she took off … Continue reading →

Twice during the past ten years I mentioned, in this blog, an experience I had when driving around rural north Texas with my late wife. We stumbled upon the town of Windthorst and its St. Mary’s Catholic church and a … Continue reading →

Rachel Martin, near the end of a May 2023 interview with actor Rainn Wilson, asked him, “To see sacredness in the everyday means purging yourself of cynicism, doesn’t it?” He answered “yes” and went on to describe an interaction he … Continue reading →

Up before four, and what do I do? I read and I write and I wonder. I drink strong black coffee and think about cats and gaze at photographs of magnificent scrap metal sculpture. I think about characters I’ve created … Continue reading →

When circumstances call for action, but timidity or fear stand as obstacles to  moral responses to those demands, one’s philosophies are meaningless. Beliefs in what is “right” are hollow when the prospect of facing potential risks outweighs the certainty of … Continue reading →

He wanted to live a ballad, like a quiet, rebellious, withdrawn, assertive teenager born in the wrong century, yet comfortable as an outcast and an intellectual. But he did not have the strength or the stamina to break the mold … Continue reading →

Long, long ago—probably when I was in my teens—I read a tawdry novel. I do not remember much of the book, but for some reason I remember the substance of a conversation in which one of the main characters made … Continue reading →

Something important is missing and will never return. Something that defined who I was, long, long, long ago. It’s gone, now, and so is the definition. I am a vacant room; four walls, a ceiling, a floor, but nothing else. … Continue reading →

If you want to know more about the shocking news delivered in the title of this post, you’ll have to read on. I’m not going to make this easy for you. I have a reason for being so ornery. You … Continue reading →

In spite of my fascination with journalism, I never took a college-level course in the subject. But my interest has remained relatively high during all the intervening years. This morning, the attraction to journalism and its effects on its audience … Continue reading →

We rely on the predictability of the climate. Granted, predicting weather is an imprecise science—some would call it an art—but climate is another story. Summer follows Spring, which follows Winter, which follows Fall, with precedes Summer, etc., etc. We know … Continue reading →

The day is speeding by, far faster than it should. Now later than 7:30, I am stunned by how much time has roared by since I awoke. Have I been in a trance? Where have I been? How could more … Continue reading →

I am not in the mood to write coherently this morning. So I probably will write gibberish, as I am wont to do. +++ There are places so dry cracks appear in the sky the moment the morning sun washes … Continue reading →

We assign labels. We are given labels. We form attachments to the labels we give and the labels we are given. Labels become both badges of honor and weapons of deliberate destruction. We acquiesce to labels’ implications about us. We … Continue reading →