Author Archives: John Swinburn

This image popped up on my computer this morning as a reminder of a time several years past. Though the scene has changed since then, I remember it. My late wife and I were sitting at a window of a … Continue reading →

I’ve somehow wandered into March, directly from December. How in Hell do I find myself in the third month of the year? I am relatively certain that, yesterday, the idea of the year 2022 was a distant absurdity. And now, … Continue reading →

I will ask my brothers and sister , who was I as a child and, later, as a teenager and, later still, a young adult? Was I always as emotionally fragile early on, as I was in my so-called “prime?” … Continue reading →

If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence. ~ Lao Tzu ~ Every moment is both beginning and end. Each instance of the smallest measure of time launches a new experience; at the same … Continue reading →

A friend of mine is off in a few days on a vacation trip of a lifetime. If circumstances cooperate when she visits Norway, she will see the Northern Lights, visit the northern part of the country where she will … Continue reading →

Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. ~ Eric Hoffer ~ I have had limited exposure to … Continue reading →

I spend many hours here in my study, deep in the middle of the night, drenched in thought and illuminated only by a lamp that intrudes on darkness. This early morning solitude, wherein with my fingers I engage in make-believe … Continue reading →

Like most Americans, I am not intimately familiar with the political landscape in and around the Ukraine. But I now will become more attuned to what is happening there because Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of the country. My … Continue reading →

Once again, sleeplessness won over rest. I’ve been awake now for an hour, having gotten up just before 3:30. The thoughts running through my mind had nothing to do with the stresses of house renovations. Rather, my thoughts focused on … Continue reading →

Finally, I stayed in bed until 6 this morning, after getting to sleep last night after 11. That’s an abnormally long stretch of sleep for me…though it wasn’t all sleep. Sometime during the wee hours, an intensely loud, grating screech … Continue reading →

Strip away the chain fast food joints, the used car dealerships, and wave after wave after wave of hideous billboards promoting the poverty of mindless consumerism. If there’s anything left, it’s worth a look. Because what is left is the … Continue reading →

The topic of yesterday’s post continues to plague me. Haunt me. Cause me to shiver and wonder whether I am the target of a witch’s demonic spell. What kind of person paints a ceiling dark, drab green? Does such a … Continue reading →

That which renders life burdensome to us generally arises from the abuse of it. ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau ~ I wonder whether the Rousseau quotation applies to me. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Rousseau had a negative view of … Continue reading →

After a few days of delightfully comfortable weather, the icy fingers of winter clawed back with a vengeance yesterday afternoon. Today’s high temperature is forecast to reach only 46°F, after a much colder evening. Temperatures are expected to edge back … Continue reading →

Human beings have the capacity to understand and, at the very least, tolerate people who look, speak, or think differently. But that capacity is tested in too few human beings. Instead of treating differences as both interesting and acceptable, humans … Continue reading →

At least I did not get up at 3 this morning. I awoke just after 2, but managed to drift off quite a while later. But I was awake again before 4:30, so I opted to get up for the … Continue reading →

For various discernable reasons, I feel overwhelmed by obligations that, in reality, are not obligations. They are options I have chosen to treat as obligations. Perhaps “chosen” is not the right word. I should replace that word with “allowed myself.” … Continue reading →

Writing, from my perspective, is both tedious and stimulating. It combines elements of torture and elation, though not always at the same time. Perhaps the most important aspect of writing for me is its ability to prove to me that … Continue reading →

Here in the Little Rock Double tree, darkness pervades the quiet room. I am trying to be quiet, so as not to wake my sleeping companion. When she wakes, we will see about breakfast, then while away the hours until … Continue reading →

I’ve encountered—mostly through literature and film—several characters named “Destiny.” In most cases, the name seems oddly in conflict with the haphazard nature of their lives. Recently, I was reminded of another “Destiny” I encountered in passing, this one in the … Continue reading →

My parents never had much money. Their jobs were not well-paying and rearing six kids siphoned off every cent they had. To my knowledge, they never had much in savings and they had no retirement income except Social Security which, … Continue reading →

If not for my growing fascination with posts made in the Facebook group, That’s It, I’m Architecture Shaming, I would not be so increasingly conscious of the brutalism style of architecture. But several members of the group regularly post photos … Continue reading →

I saw a re-post on Facebook this morning that caught my attention. I wasn’t sure whether the words simply resonated with me because I endorse the sentiment they convey or, instead, whether they caused me to have an intensely introspective … Continue reading →

Mistakes can be costly in many ways. They can cost money, time, energy, confidence, and comfort. Failing to own up to them can cost even more. Respect and trust are two of the most costly aspects of denying—or failing to … Continue reading →

Today is my friend’s birthday. If justice prevailed in our corner of the universe, she and her husband would rush down to Hot Springs Village so we could celebrate her successful attainment of a certain age. Alternatively, we would head … Continue reading →