Sechs Schock und zehn

Hello from my abode, Today would be the birthday of my adopted father’s eldest brother-in-law, Mr. Clare White Swaby. He was born in 1896, and he was the proverbial Sunday dinner guest when I grew up. He was, by any measure or thought, a character. He dropped out of elementary school in 5th grade, butContinue reading “Sechs Schock und zehn”

Justice or Partiality: it is a Choice

Hello at the beginning of April, The reality of Spring seems more likely this past week. While the rather usual cyclical weather, both reminding us of the lengthy winter and teasing us the possibility of spring, continues, the increasing hours of light does assist in my more hopeful attitude. As I write it is HolyContinue reading “Justice or Partiality: it is a Choice”

Grief is the Proof Love Exists

Hello on the Month that we celebrate love, Valentines Day is certainly a mixed bag, albeit something we spend billions of dollars on each year (this year the prediction is 29.1 billion or just shy of 200.00 per person – I did multiple searches including AI). And recently titles like SAD (Singles Awareness Day, whichContinue reading “Grief is the Proof Love Exists”

If I Could Do It All Over

Hello from snowy February evening, As I ponder and worry about the world we have created, pensive as I wonder if we will survive the unending chaos that confronts me from all platforms we seem to incessantly absorb, I am reminded of that adage of what if I could go back in time, but knowContinue reading “If I Could Do It All Over”

Can the Calendar Make a Difference?

Hello on a New Year’s afternoon, When I was a boy, the week after Christmas, as I have noted, was spent at my grandmother’s house. The acreage, located on the North side of Sioux City, was a humble, but homely dwelling rather non-descript to the viewer, but anything but for me because it was whereContinue reading “Can the Calendar Make a Difference?”

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”