I was asked to read some poems last night. A gathering was sponsored by the Mundelein Arts Council at Taste of Paris. Musicians from the area and several writers were given opportunity to perform in public. I found my imagination going back to the late bronze age. Certainly members of the aristocracy and their…
A few days ago my daughter asked me to write about the connection between the white headed robin and the muscle cars which were featured in the post on BEAUTY I am satisfied that there are many ties of relationship between the rare bird and the hand built single purpose hot rods. It is…
One of many useful gifts that I received from grad school is the habit of taking notes in a pocket-sized moleskin notebook. I record memorable statements, questions, and especially outrageous exclamations that I happen upon in my reading. As a result of much reading I have filled seven or eight of these notebooks with…
So how is it going? You know, that pursuit of happiness? Was it genius or was it a touch of madness for Jefferson to have inserted “that” (happiness) into the Declaration of Independence? Is there anything more unstable than happiness? Happiness is not up to me for a starter. Today I plan some actions…
Often cause and effect is not obvious. The direction of the process, and the meaning of the ultimate result may be concealed by a tortuous chain of ambiguous links. Where, how did the cancer begin? Such news comes “out of the blue.” the last thing one expects to hear. The lethal condition was not…
Mother’s Day becomes more important to me as the years pass. Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day are my top contenders for excellent holidays. Those are solitary days dedicated to showing gratitude. Both holidays stand as reminders of how much of my life depends upon the good graces of others, acts of kindness, of solicitude that…
I finished reading the essay The Iliad or the Poem of Force written in 1943 by Simone Weil. The essay and other similar works are preparation for my commitment to read the Iliad by Homer. The more I’ve learned of the ancient Greeks, the greater my desire to read Homers great poem. This text was…
A copy of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse was given to me by a good friend. I finished the story a few days ago. I read it once before over 30 years ago. Hesse’s story is life changing, similar to T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. A copy of the Four Quartets is in my brief…
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder? One is tempted to answer “yes” or answer “no.” Then to follow up with a discussion on the latest findings on brain research. Alternatively there is the description of objectively measurable parameters of proportion, of design technique. To take either side is an interesting game. I’ve…
In life, a man commits himself, draws his own portrait and there is nothing but that portrait. *** If I have excluded God the Father, there must be somebody to invent values. We have to take things as they are. Life is nothing until it is lived. *** Man is all the time outside…
