About this time last week, we were warned the gates of hell were about to open. Escape while there’s time, they said, run for the hills. It’s coming, the hurricane. Evacuate, don’t look back. Save life and limb; don’t be like Lot’s wife who looked back. You know what happens when you fall for that …
Blemish: n. A flaw, fault, stain or imperfection. Nothing’s perfect. Not even us. ********** I found a blemish last Friday morning. It had desecrated my favorite pink linen shirt. I’m sitting on the porch having coffee. It’s early. The morning’s quiet. Communion with birds and cicadas is a good beginning. I look down and …
Thanks, Waylon, you pretty much nailed how we feel about the state of things in general, and Dog Days in particular. ********** Last Wednesday passing through the island guard gate the temperature read 100. The heat index hovered at 109. The ‘guards’ moved like zombies in a humidity-induced stupor. I don’t know where the day …
Falling in love is easy. Happens all the time. One might conclude we’re born to love. Even flings with mannequins. ********** Objects of affection are everywhere. Like lovers, they change depending on whims. They can just pop up out of nowhere, grab us and we’re hooked. Today I fell in love with the mannequin in …
Is there an answer for every Why that’s uttered? Yes, in a word: Because. ********** It starts early in life, this obsession with the question of Why. Remember this dialogue? “Mommy, can I have this?” “No.” “Why?” “Because.” “Because why?” “Because I said so.” End of discussion. The Voice has spoken. Frank McCourt, the author, …
There was a time you were trapped in a box canyon, no way out, escape impossible, UNTIL… ********** Life is full of box canyons. How easily we’re lured into their labyrinthine lairs. We stumble in circles, groping like the blind for the exit, any exit. We bounce from pillar to post, hopelessly hemmed in, staggering …
Competition is brutal, mano a mano. The stakes are high. Only the strong survive. Think twice if you’re trying to stay in the game. ********** Born again, the mantra of America. A rebirth every minute for somebody, a company, a new name, a new game. Something dies, something new is born. There is no void …
The War of Independence was an unfair matchup. England, population 6.4 million, a military of 2.4 million and an awesome armada, versus The Colonies, about 2.5 million farmers and colonists. No Las Vegas bookie would have bet on America. But God did. ********** There’s a rebellious streak in youth. It’s a natural tendency. It’s born …
Summer announces itself in many ways. Our memories have stored the sights, sounds and scents of the season from days of youth, which is maybe the best way to think of summer. ********** It’s early morning when I open the car door at Dr. Greene’s office. I’m here for a fasting blood test to determine, …
The most precious and coveted parcel of real estate in an asphalt-paved world is a 10’ x 15’ parking space, especially if it’s the last one open. ********** It’s Memorial Day weekend. The parking lot is a teeming mosh-pit of irritable shoppers. Common courtesy, like yesterday’s chewed bubble gum, lies melting on the scorching pavement. …