Category Archives: Uncategorized

Generally, we do not bother exploring in depth the world at our fingertips.  It seems we take certain elements of our lives for granted, assuming there is nothing much to know about them other than that they are “there.” I … Continue reading →

My sister-in-law (my late wife’s sister) bought a new pair of “readers” the other day. When she dropped by for an early-morning visit yesterday, on a whim I decided to put them on. I was surprised when I looked at … Continue reading →

Sometimes, one finds it necessary to take unnecessary risks. That is, exposing oneself voluntarily to circumstances that friends and family would label irresponsible and dangerous is required for one’s sense of happiness and sanity. Those instances when one feels compelled … Continue reading →

Another short, one-finger post. Here I sit in Bentonville, Arkansas, watching dawn race to spray light over the motel parking lot outside my window. Last night’s presentation by Alice Walton et al was interesting and informative, but I am ready … Continue reading →

You can lead a horticulture but you can’t make her think. ~ Dorothy Parker ~ (When challenged by columnist Franklin P. Adams to use the word “horticulture” in a sentence). I always have appreciated the wit of Dorothy Parker. I … Continue reading →

If I had a way to do it, I would like to unobtrusively slip inside a person’s head so I could read or listen to or see the thoughts that reside there. Of course, that action would expose me to … Continue reading →

Spring returned late yesterday, after leaving in a huff a few days earlier. Summer slipped in during Spring’s absence, arriving with a vengeful blast of heat that wilted blossoms and steadfast resolve. His fiery breath baked new-fallen pollen onto the … Continue reading →

If all goes according to plan, the sale of my house will close on May 27. I got an offer less than 22 hours after the listing went live just after midnight on Friday. Despite quite a lot of interest, … Continue reading →

The transition from winter to summer occurred in the pre-dawn hours yesterday. Or so it seemed. Various seasons, rarely appropriate to the calendar, have come and gone during the past month or so. Frigid periods took place, followed by days … Continue reading →

If I’ve written about hugs recently, I hope I will be forgiven for another round of hug-appreciation; I just feel the need to give accolades to the value of hugs. Hugs used to make me very uncomfortable. I felt like … Continue reading →

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ~ Robert Heinlein ~ (from Stranger in a Strange Land) It is possible to love another person, a stranger, so intensely as to be … Continue reading →

Emotions can consume a person, the way flames consume a fireplace log. After the conflagration, only ashes remain; the burnt-out, misshapen scraps of a façade that became fuel. That’s the problem with emotions. Although they can enrich life and make … Continue reading →

There is no poison worse than hatred, nor no medicine better than love. I wrote those words more than eight years ago, a couple of months before I moved to Hot Springs Village. Though I do not recall exactly what was … Continue reading →

Last night—as I sat skimming through an assortment of CreateTV programs—it occurred to me that I should spend less time being “entertained” by television. Instead, I should spend more time watching educational programs and learning about topics that capture my … Continue reading →

I look in the mirror and see someone I do not recognize. He is an imposter. Someone far larger than I, attempting without success to fit into my body. Someone slack and pasty, a pretender who cannot possibly be the … Continue reading →

When I rose from bed this morning, the aches and cramps that accompanied the launch of the day startled and surprised me, though they are not new. But they are more pronounced. “I used to be young,” I said to … Continue reading →

Wouldn’t we (Humanity, that is) be surprised to learn Nature is a sentient being and that she has finally decided to rid herself of a constant thorn in her side? How might we react if incontrovertible proof showed the monstrous … Continue reading →

I “hear” the beat of my heart. Or perhaps I feel the blood coursing through the vessels in my head, near my ears. The difference between the sensations of sound and touch is almost indistinguishable when both are so faint … Continue reading →

Today would have been the forty-second anniversary of my marriage to my late wife. We had been married for forty years and eight months when she died. Every milestone event in which she played a significant part—birthday, anniversary, major holiday, … Continue reading →

Cornelius turns 78 years old today. Let’s look back 78 years to when he was born and then 78 years before the year of his birth. And let’s continue looking backward, 78 years at a time, in that fashion to … Continue reading →

Yesterday’s guest speaker for my church’s “insight service,” the principal of Little Rock Catholic High School for Boys, was much more interesting than I had expected. The speaker, Steve Straessle, offered both a polished delivery and an engaging message. His … Continue reading →

Dogwood blossoms fall. Leaves replace their soft beauty with rugged resolve. Wishes tell stories, many of them bald-faced lies. But still, we listen. Sleep escapes the night. So many long, restless hours, Waiting for the day. Feel the scorching flames … Continue reading →

Gazing into a crisp, cold, dark pre-dawn sky is a radically different experience from gazing into a crisp, cold, bright mid-day sky. All other aspects of the experience being the same, the daytime sky gives me more of a sense … Continue reading →

Dogmatism and skepticism are both, in a sense, absolute philosophies; one is certain of knowing, the other of not knowing. What philosophy should dissipate is certainty, whether of knowledge or ignorance.    ~ Bertrand Russell ~ Acknowledging one’s own secrets … Continue reading →

When I woke this morning, I remembered everything—the whole dream. I should have transcribed it then, because now I remember only fleeting scenes. I remember the woman’s friend, Max Sabrrir, finding me after we got separated while he was inquiring … Continue reading →