Author Archives: John Swinburn

During the past several days—roughly three weeks and change—I have been more addicted than usual to music. Listening to a rich musical pastiche has mined my emotions and, in the process, helped to clarify them. I’ve discovered that tastes in … Continue reading →

A friend’s comment on my latest blog post launched in me a whirlwind of thought. My friend related the story of her mother who, after 45 years of marriage, fell in love with another man just a few months following … Continue reading →

I spent part of the evening last night with my new actual girlfriend (who I feel like I’ve known and loved forever—more on that in a minute) and some other friends, listening to an extraordinarily talented young guitarist. It impressed … Continue reading →

The world did not end yesterday, despite the fact that I did not fulfil my self-imposed commitment to write at least one blog post per day. One of my brothers called to confirm that I had not shuffled off this … Continue reading →

Explosive cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning woke me just over half an hour ago. I got up to have a sip of water, which was a mistake. Getting out of bed was all it took to leave all … Continue reading →

Before this morning’s welcome experience with freshly-brewed, hot coffee, my last cup of the stuff was Sunday morning. Though I am by no means addicted to coffee, it is a welcome luxury I miss when I cannot have it. Yesterday, … Continue reading →

A million matters cross my mind this morning, topics spanning the scale from deliriously happy facts to some unhappy memories. The subjects of my thoughts have no cohesive theme, only haphazard elements from recollections across time. The one commonality in … Continue reading →

First things first. I accidentally hit the “post” button instead of the “save as draft” button a while ago, sending an utterly unfinished “new post” notice into a couple of dozen email boxes. My apologies to those who received a … Continue reading →

Last night, I joined friends for a celebration of wine and food aficionados. Each couple or individual brought wine and hors d’ouevres to share. Six bottles of wine and what felt like 48 ounces of food later, we finished the … Continue reading →

Last night, our team came in a very respectable second in the trivia game we planned at the local pub. I wish I could contribute more to the answers, but I’m afraid my knowledge, though trivial, does not work well … Continue reading →

Last night, I blamed the chiggers for my insomnia. Sometime before 3:00 a.m., the chigger bites, too numerous to count, made sleep impossible. They. Itched. Like. Crazy. I thought I had discarded the outdated chigger-bite-relief-goo that I bought a few … Continue reading →

Hurt feelings can cause emotions to get even more breakable. They do not become softer with use, they become brittle. It doesn’t matter whether the actions or omissions that caused the feelings to be scuffed were intentional or even legitimately … Continue reading →

As I begin today’s blog post, it’s almost 1:30 a.m. I’m awake because I haven’t been to bed yet. Going to bed late is not always the result of some external influence. Nor is it always a symptom of some … Continue reading →

The weather can take at least partial credit for my cheery mood yesterday morning. The mood could have continued with unabated joy, had the temperature ever reached its forecast high. But the rising temperatures seemed to stall around 67°F around … Continue reading →

Unlike a day ago, I awoke later than normal this morning, having slept soundly. Any dreams I had were pleasant; thoughts that went through my mind overnight left me feeling good, as if I had made peace with a sometimes … Continue reading →

Here it is, 3:15 a.m. and I’ve been awake for more than twenty minutes. I can feel my eyelids attempting to reclaim the sleep of which they are being deprived, but the allure of sleep is insufficient, for now, to … Continue reading →

Recently, I’ve engaged in conversations about places that, for various reasons, attract me. Among them: New Mexico and parts of Arizona, as well as several other places where rain is not as common, by far, as it is where I … Continue reading →

Paul Simon is probably right. There must be fifty ways to leave your lover. But without question there are a million different ways to replicate the outcome of the same mistake in different forms. I write from densely personal stupid … Continue reading →

As I was saying, there’s much more on my mind. Not that I’m going to record it all on this blog at this moment. Some of it, though… +++ I can’t control another person’s thoughts and emotions; I can control … Continue reading →

In spite of the drab, grey morning and despite the fact that the deck was wet (not sure whether it was just heavy dew or rain from last night), something about the morning’s atmosphere captured my interest and appreciation. Maybe … Continue reading →

In my opinion, The Woman in the Window, on Netflix, is a waste of time, intellect, and the investment made in producing the film. Why I watched it all the way through is beyond me. Fortunately, after I finished that … Continue reading →

A public post on Facebook by someone I do not know asked whether there’s music that brings tears to a person’s eyes. I could list dozens of such pieces, if only I remembered them all. But the music that moves … Continue reading →

It is just after 3:00 as I type this. I have been moderately awake for some time, thrashing around in the bed, trying without success to get comfortable. During the period in which I was not asleep but could not … Continue reading →

I had a late, slow start to the day. When I woke up at 4:45 or so, I did not feel like getting up. So, I set my alarm for 6:45 and went back to bed (I did not want … Continue reading →

My wife’s illness and then her death shattered both our dreams. I don’t even remember what they were, now. But they were grand. We were going to escape from the nightmare of COVID-19 and live the lives we had planned. … Continue reading →