Author Archives: John Swinburn

Once again, heavy rains took their toll on yesterday’s plans; lunch with friends at a country diner, postponed from Wednesday to Friday due to weather, had to be scrapped again for the same reason. Fortunately, though, weather was not a … Continue reading →

Tilting at windmills can be a fruitless endeavor, a noble enterprise that may yield nothing more than witnesses’ glazed eyes and gaping yawns. Convincing one’s unwilling army the enemy is real is the first step in vanquishing one’s adversary. Even … Continue reading →

My ego got quite a boost last night. The boost was the culmination of circumstances that began last Sunday, during a pot-luck lunch at church. A friend sitting across the table from us mentioned that she had to leave soon … Continue reading →

History—even recent history—tells us country names change. The place we now call Botswana once was known as Bechuanaland. Zimbabwe was Southern Rhodesia, then Rhodesia. Zambia was Northern Rhodesia. Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, collectively, were called Yugoslavia … Continue reading →

There should be no disagreement, no debate: white men live with enormous amounts of unearned privilege. The simple randomness of birth gives us opportunities not available to people of color or to women. We are, in a word, lucky. Some … Continue reading →

Rain is a distinct possibility this morning. The early morning sky seems heavy, as if burdened and in need of relief. Rain can relieve the sky of its uncomfortable heaviness. Or so I’ve been told by clouds, who have a … Continue reading →

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. ~ George Saunders ~ George Saunders’ 2013 commencement address at Syracuse University preceded his book, Congratulations, By the Way: Some Thoughts on Kindness. A transcript of his commencement address, … Continue reading →

The proceeds of the sale of the “old” house are in the bank. I should be ecstatic that the long, tiring episode is behind me. I am glad it’s over. But I expected a degree of elation that, as of … Continue reading →

On occasion, the idea of writing a blog post holds absolutely no appeal for me. In fact, it seems burdensome, similar in effect to looking forward to a drive to my office, through heavy traffic, for a face-to-face meeting with … Continue reading →

Four-plus years ago, I wrote a post I entitled, The People Who Feed Us. In it, I mentioned almost in passing that I wished I had the opportunity to meet and talk to the farmers and farmworkers and the other … Continue reading →

These photos do not even begin to do justice to the environment surrounding the new house, but they will have to do until I find the time and inclination to take and organize and post more photos. Photos that show … Continue reading →

My “readership” as measured by “Statcounter” traffic monitors is down considerably. Especially the “regular” traffic, the number of returning visitors, is down. That’s a sign that what I write is not gripping enough to cause readers to want to come … Continue reading →

Despite having been to neither city, Traverse City, Michigan and Ann Arbor, Michigan have a fascination for me. I am especially enamored with Traverse City, the smaller of the two, with a population of roughly 16,000. But Ann Arbor, considerably … Continue reading →

One year ago today, the seduction began in earnest. It started weeks earlier, but it culminated with a visit to see his masks. His masks! How apropos! A visit to determine which of his personalities was the real one. Was … Continue reading →

Where is “home?” Is home the place of one’s birth? The place—or places—where one spent one’s formative years?  The place where one settled in adulthood? But what is home to people whose lives define the word “wanderer?” Is home a … Continue reading →

I cancelled a massage this morning (my first one in many, many years) because the closing on my house was scheduled for today. At this very moment, my neck, back, shoulders, and the back of my head are in dire, … Continue reading →

It won’t be long now. Just a matter of weeks. Maybe a month, at most. Once the house-warming activities and events are behind us—once the visits to see the new place have all been made—and once I have finished unpacking … Continue reading →

Anguish. Inconceivably painful, debilitating, powerless anguish. It is the never-ending emotion facing the families and friends of the children killed in mass-shootings. Mass-shootings that have become so common that the public seems hardened to them; accepting of them. Anguish once … Continue reading →

Another early morning. I woke a bit before 4, but opted to stay in bed until the clock struck four. My office is very dark, except for the light from my notebook computer’s screen. I need a night light in … Continue reading →

Time speeds by early in the morning. I awoke before 4:30 and, as I begin to write this post, suddenly it is 5:45. My time spent revising an informational letter to the buyer of my old house took much longer … Continue reading →

Last night’s ferocious rainstorms, punctuated with brilliant flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder that shook the rafters and rattled the walls, brought dramatically cooler temperatures. I love violent rainstorms, but when they grow into beasts that spawn tornadoes, my … Continue reading →

Belatedly, after two full days in the new house, I baptized the new tile shower this morning. My intent was to finally wash off the sweat and grime before I went to bed last night (the sheets were already in … Continue reading →

The first full day in the new house unfolded in an almost orchestrated way, as if designed to reinforce a message delivered the day before: friends know the right time to appear, delivering comfort and brushing away stress. The two … Continue reading →

Exhaustion. It can arise from too much physical exertion or too much emotional stress. It can emerge from the realization that abstract wishes and dreams may not lead to concrete experiences. I blame this morning’s exhaustion on an amalgamation of … Continue reading →

Almost hidden beneath layer upon layer of more mundane recollections is my memory of a  childhood fascination with volcanoes. Though the details are long gone, I recall receiving a treasured gift—from my parents, I think—of a book about all sorts … Continue reading →