Author Archives: John Swinburn

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He wanted to live a ballad, like a quiet, rebellious, withdrawn, assertive teenager born in the wrong century, yet comfortable as an outcast and an intellectual.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 →

Perhaps this image will calm me. It is a photo I took while attending a Peter Mayer concert at the Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The stained glass was created in honor of the memory of Howard Forrer Peirce. I … Continue reading →

What is too early? Mi novia and I have divergent views of this. She feels that a phone call or text message should wait until after the recipient’s 9:00 a.m. hour unless the communication is urgent. I suppose our difference … Continue reading →

The wee hours of the morning brought rain, lightning, thunder, and the sound of trees locked in fierce battles with the wind. Some days, but not last night, I would have gotten up to watch and listen, immersing myself—comfortably safe … Continue reading →

Poetry explores corners of the world hidden from the bright light of natural, normal, conspicuous understanding. The language of the poet probes those dark corners, helping us think in uncommon, but quite revealing, ways. The webs of philosophy spin poets … Continue reading →

No matter how badly a person might want to escape the tentacles of his society, that desire is virtually unattainable. People already “own” every diminishing habitable square inch of Planet Earth. Even “ownership” does not protect the owner from meddling … Continue reading →

The last time I traveled to England—probably 25 years ago—I was reminded of a U.K. practice I wish would take hold in the U.S. That is, inclusion of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other mandatory taxes and fees in advertised … Continue reading →

Dreams are merely fantasies. Or nightmares. They have no hidden meaning; at least their meaning is not hidden from the dreamer. The dreamer understands the dream, if he is willing to take the risk of unwrapping it. But that can … Continue reading →

For reasons that remain unclear to me, gradations sometimes fascinate me. Depending on my mood at the time I write about them, I may refer to them as points along a spectrum. I have written about spectra on more than … Continue reading →