Author Archives: John Swinburn

Those moments when the vastness and wonder of Nature fill me up are the moments I wish I could share with others. But I think such experiences are uniquely solitary. They cannot be shared. The circumstances in which I am … Continue reading →

Yesterday began as a magnificent day and continued along that course. I joined three friends in a jaunt to North Little Rock, where we had lunch at Brood & Barley, an extraordinary restaurant. The menu is remarkable; everything on it … Continue reading →

Wasps occasionally alight on the outside of panes of glass in the big windows along the back wall of my living area. When they land, the wasps tend to stay on the glass, unmoving, for several minutes at a time. … Continue reading →

Some people tend to view their experiences in metaphorical terms, looking at their lives as chapters in a book. That is a reasonable metaphor, I think, but our lives might just as easily be collections of short stories. Chapters of … Continue reading →

During a phone call from my sister and oldest brother yesterday, a book was recommended to me: The Code Breaker, by Walter Isaacson. Subtitled, Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, descriptions of the book make … Continue reading →

This morning, I have a follow-up appointment with a respiratory APN. She will ask me questions about my breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, etc. And I suspect she will suggest alternates for the daily two-puff inhaler she last prescribed (and … Continue reading →

Coffee tastes awful this morning, angry at filling a cup when it could have stayed comfortably unbrewed. Yet, still I drink it. It’s a habit, a ritual. I think, for a moment, that I rarely pay much attention to the … Continue reading →

Late yesterday afternoon and again this morning, I watched and listened to the YouTube replay of yesterday’s Sunday service for my church. The theme and topic of the minister’s sermon was “tenderness.” The woman who introduced the day’s service, always … Continue reading →

This is post number 3600. I wrote the first post for this blog roughly eight years and eight months ago, which translates into an average of roughly a shade more than thirty-four posts a month. Some months have been far … Continue reading →

Restlessness. That’s what it is, right? It’s not necessarily a permanent change of heart. It’s not necessarily a signal that it’s time to move on. But the “seven-year-itch” seems to infect  many aspects of our lives. In years past, I … Continue reading →

I ate too much last night. The evening’s leftovers remain in the refrigerator, begging to be eaten. But I refuse to be manipulated by what was advertised as potato “skins” that, in reality, are whole potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, … Continue reading →

At 2:00 a.m., the NOAA Weather Radio screamed me awake, alerting me to the latest tornado watch, which is in effect until 8 a.m. I would have been more forgiving of the howling screech if the alert had been for … Continue reading →

Another bizarre dream last night. I bought a car from a friend, Craig (who does not sell cars), with a loan made available through an insurance program created to help a Missouri town recover from a devastating flood. Craig used … Continue reading →

A few nights ago, I decided to forego my usual practice of bringing in the hummingbird feeders because of rain. Surely, I told myself, masked bandits would not risk falling to their deaths while attempting to slurp hummingbird nectar from … Continue reading →

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one’s being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom. ~D.T. Suzuki “Seeing into the nature of one’s being…” It occurs to me that my entire … Continue reading →

Don’t be dissuaded about reading this post when you come upon sections that seem dreary or downright depressing. I’ll just leave it at that. +++ During my morning perusal of BBC.com I encountered several videos I intend to view, but … Continue reading →

Wine, cheese, hard Spanish chorizo, summer sausage, and far-reaching conversations made for an outstanding Friday evening. And that was after a filling and satisfying lunch at El Jimador. My friends and I stayed up talking and enjoying one another’s company … Continue reading →

My memory is a bit dim as far as when and where, but I remember seeing large numbers of benches and tables in a public space, like a park. Every one of the tables was occupied by two people, sitting … Continue reading →

My desk chair is wholly inadequate. It does not maintain my vertical position. Slowly—sometimes suddenly—the back of the chair tilts so that I find myself reclining in front of the computer. I’ve been advised to buy a nice, sturdy, ergonomically … Continue reading →

I have mixed feelings about yesterday’s conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. While I think justice was served (who could think otherwise, having seen the video of Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck?), I am conflicted by … Continue reading →

Ten years ago, on another of my blogs that’s still visible but to which I no longer post, I wrote this: Unlike me, my father was not a man who wore his emotions on his sleeve. But he had emotions … Continue reading →

The temperature in the house is 65°F, a tad nippy for me but not cold enough to merit reverting the HVAC system to heating. I changed it several days ago to cooling, when outside temperatures climbed well above 80°F. The … Continue reading →

Last night, I went to dinner with four friends; three local, one distant, but all close in the sense that they contribute significantly to my ability to absorb life a little better on the heels of emotional somersaults. As is … Continue reading →