Struggling with my Scars

Hello from the hotel, I am continually amazed by the way our lives seem to be in an ending tension of sorts, the sort of push and pull between things that seem diametrically opposed. We are, on occasion, profoundly short-sighted while simultaneously planning things long-term. We are ostensibly pleased with our daily existence while worryingContinue reading “Struggling with my Scars”

Appreciation for the Other

Hello from a coffee shop in Kraków, At the moment, I am neither in a Starbucks or a Costa, but somewhere I found close to my Air BnB, which is out beyond Ulica Floriańska, which has New Years Eve memories more than once. The coffee shop is called Green Coffee Nero, and it somewhat remindsContinue reading “Appreciation for the Other”

When the Daily Norm is anything but . . .

Hello from my desk on the mini-Acre, I have been commenting, grading, and managing student writing most of the weekend. It is Sunday evening, and the 1st of October. We are into the last quarter of yet another year, soon what will be a third of another decade, and not that far away from anotherContinue reading “When the Daily Norm is anything but . . .”

Five Hundred Twenty-five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes

Hello from my study on the Acre. The first time I saw the movie version of the musical, Rent, I was almost speechless by the end of the show. Since then, I have watched it numerous times, but it still can bring me to tears. While it is well-known, there are certainly those who areContinue reading “Five Hundred Twenty-five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes”

Deciding to be Solitary or Lonely

Hello from my study, Today I followed through on a decision pondered for a while, but it is a decision that requires me to be more intentional, more thoughtful, and more disciplined about what I do. After multiple urgings as well as the life-style change COVID has brought, and some thoughts about my own long-termContinue reading “Deciding to be Solitary or Lonely”

Imagining Decades and Connecting the Dots

Hello from my upstairs study, It is Sunday evening and even though it is barely 8:00 p.m., it seems so much later when it gets dark so early. Over the last couple of days, I was so aware of that rapidly setting sun and when it is cloudy, it is even more apparent. I doContinue reading “Imagining Decades and Connecting the Dots”

What is in a Decade? (and I have not forgotten about hope)

Hello from my study.  Somehow I thought I wrote an entire paragraph or two before I went to a meeting, but I guess I have lost it. I think it was because I had not saved and then closed some windows. That is not the first technological snafu I have accomplished or preformed today, soContinue reading “What is in a Decade? (and I have not forgotten about hope)”

The Blessings (perhaps) of Memory

Good very early morning. As is often the case, I have slept for a while, but I am awake after 1,036 miles of driving over two days and falling asleep at 7:45 earlier this evening. It is now a few minutes after midnight. The drive was long, but generally uneventful, which is also a veryContinue reading “The Blessings (perhaps) of Memory”

Thinking Carefully; Wondering Broadly

Good Morning from the diner, As I write this I have reminisced and realized that on this date, my Great-aunt Helen, probably one of the more elegant women I have ever known, would be celebrating a birthday today. I need to do some searching on a year, but I am imagining she would be aroundContinue reading “Thinking Carefully; Wondering Broadly”

Imagining the next Chapter

 Hello on a Sunday evening, It is the end of the weekend and while I got some things accomplished, it was somewhat a weekend of socializing with colleagues, some former students, and establishing some more formalized relationships with some wonderful people I have known mostly from a distance. It was a weekend where I wasContinue reading “Imagining the next Chapter”