Author Archives: John Swinburn

When I awoke, just a few minutes before 5, the word volcano came to mind. It was not just the word, of course. The rumbling of the ground beneath my feet, as I stood at the edge of the caldera left … Continue reading →

Sitting at my desk, gazing out the window, I get the sense that I am looking at a photograph or a painting. The branches and leaves are absolutely still, as if frozen in a moment in time. Only when I … Continue reading →

Attempting meditation, my mind sometimes refuses to leave me to my serenity, insisting instead that my thoughts focus on a discussion I wish had taken a different direction than it actually took. Or my mind may stubbornly cling to an … Continue reading →

I consider myself a “has been” lately, in the context of deciding whether I really am a writer. I used to write fiction. Every day. My blog was my outlet for fiction vignettes. I rarely finished a story, but I … Continue reading →

“She seemed to be such a happy person.” I have read that refrain, or something like it, so many times following a suicide.  Or conversely, the decedent may have been labeled a “sad person,” suggesting his own life was almost … Continue reading →

Only vague scenes from my dream remain. In one, I am attempting to sweep up balls of lint from the carpeted floor of the community hall of my church, but the broom leaves most of the stuff on the floor, … Continue reading →

Life is a series of dramatic acts that collectively attempt to explain the inexplicable. The purpose of every scene is to make tolerable the unbearable. Ah, I think that description—ascribing motive and purpose to life—tips the scales toward melodrama. It … Continue reading →

There are days that I ache to engage in long philosophical conversations with someone whose sensitivities parallel mine, but whose perspectives on life may deviate from mine. Someone whose life experiences may have shaped a different world-view. I want to … Continue reading →

The replacement of the old, non-working gas logs with a new set came just in time, right before the first significant cold front of the season arrived. We seasoned the new gas logs with five hours of burning at the … Continue reading →

A twenty-minute embrace. That’s what is on my mind this morning. Not too terribly long ago, I read something that suggested complete strangers who embrace one another for as little as twenty minutes can fall in love with one another. … Continue reading →

Warrior, a Scandinavian television series, is worth watching. I’ve noticed that one of the actors, Dar Salim, plays in many Scandi political and police thrillers. Born in Baghdad, Iraq, he moved with his family to Denmark, where he was reared. … Continue reading →

Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Lopez. Jennifer Garner. Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer Love-Hewitt. The entertainment world is awash in people whose names reflect an era in which the name, Jennifer, was a parental favorite. It’s not just the entertainment world, either, … Continue reading →

Yesterday morning, on a whim, we drove to Lake Village, AR, located about 125 miles southeast of Little Rock. Because we got something of a late start, we spent only a short time there; enough time to know we want … Continue reading →

Some days, I sit at my desk, skimming the latest data that claims to be news and contemplating the day ahead. And, then, when the world around me becomes too toxic to allow into my thoughts, I sometimes turn to … Continue reading →

Why is the idea of paying for access to television news channels so absurd? And why is the practice of subscribing to newspapers shrinking, dissolving into a tiny replica of its former self? Our concept of “news” is changing. We … Continue reading →

A pain in the neck. Literally. I must have been in an awkward position while I slept. The moment I began to wake, the pain in left side of my neck grabbed my attention. Hard. Like a grip powered by … Continue reading →

We enjoyed dinner last night with two other couples. Each pair contributed to the feast, which included pulled pork, slaw, beans, and macaroni & cheese, followed by dessert. The weather forecast—which mentioned the possibility of fierce storms—and strong winds that … Continue reading →

Until an epiphany a few minutes ago, my appreciation of and trust in the Associated Press (AP) was enormous. And they may remain so, but I’ll have to mull over my flash of insight before I reach any conclusions. As … Continue reading →

True poetry is the linguistic expression of inspiration. Too often, though, language is manipulated into artificial poetry, a poorly disguised attempt at the real thing. The difference is the passion that drives true poetry. Obvious passion, sometimes, but at other … Continue reading →

Finally, in a short while, I will return to the barber shop. I had my most recent haircut around the middle of August. I had scheduled a return visit for September 14, but I cancelled that date when our travel … Continue reading →

Although the new big-screen television is dramatically larger than the one it replaced, I can imagine it will seem inadequate after viewing even larger screens. Two years hence, I suspect asserting the need for an 85-inch screen will occur; Scandinavian … Continue reading →

Shortly after I awoke this morning, I viewed a friend’s Facebook posts. She is cruising the coastline of Norway, absorbing the sights and sounds of a magical Scandinavian adventure. A few photos from her journey triggered a resurgence of my … Continue reading →

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers. ~ Khalil Gibran ~ +++ Absolute silence—the complete absence of even a hint of the slightest … Continue reading →

The Subaru, a 2016 model, is seven years old, having been purchased around the last quarter of 2015. Its odometer reads something like 104,000 miles. Its tires are showing signs of wear, sufficient to warrant consideration of replacing them. The … Continue reading →

There was a time when I would have said I believe the development of technology should not be harnessed by bureaucracy. I would have said developers of technologies should not be restrained by unfounded fears about its misuse. I would … Continue reading →