A Thursday morning, and I have an appointment with my lawnmower. Fallen leaves wait to be harvested. The mulch will not be wasted. The dying and the life-to-come are intimately linked, – mulch to new life. Just thinking about the infinite supply of shock material, so many videos from the political right and left…
What goads us into regarding all philosophers with an equal measure of mistrust and mockery is not that we are struck repeatedly by how innocent they are – how often and easily they err and stray, in short, their childish childlikeness – but rather that there is not enough genuine honesty about them: even…
Sunday, late summertime is fine here. Sunshine, the beds of flowers display a riot of life and colors. But not so everywhere. In the aftermath of the Maui wildfires the death toll stands at 93 so far. Did anyone think a tropical paradise could be vulnerable to wildfires? Neighborhoods wiped out, now become skeletal…
Sunny and zero degrees F outside. You’d think that on such a chill winter’s day the warm-blooded would be conserving energy, hibernating, or ensconced in a safe habitat. And we should call every truth false that is not accompanied by at least one laugh. –excerpt Thus Spoke Zarathustra, pt. 1, Reading and Writing, By…
I have nothing in mind for writing today. Perhaps it was the troubling dream that came in the early morning hours that unaccountably erased/rebooted my psyche? I am left with a mind that is grasping helplessly. Nothing “makes sense.” Is “making” sense nothing more than a safety-blanket of illusion? Is that enough? Can I…
Continuing the theme of outdoor, full scale dioramas, another household in Batavia offers the theme of a Madame Butterfly gathering of spirits on Halloween. The vivid colors juxtaposed with the somber skeletal reminders of death is effective to teach that life and death are never separated. Additional background on Halloween: The festival of Samhain…
Publius Rutilius Rufus was incorruptible. And what was his reward for this? He was indicted on trumped up charges and driven into exile. Marcus Aurelius was good and decent and fair. And for this? Fate handed him a plague and floods…and then his best friend attempted a coup. And how do modern historians recognize…
Sunday morning is windy, with a light rain. I cannot complain as the trees need moisture. Soon the ground will freeze… Vegetation will begin the winter season of sleep. Life can be hard. And life can be serendipitous, — the feel of a strange looking rock you happened to find, in your pocket. Is…
Last night six or seven of us had a virtual discussion, that is, via screen image we considered the function of humor, the role of laughter in the grand scheme of life. The launchpad was the short story, The Jokester by Isaac Asimov. The conclusion of our hour and a half rumination, — a…
My daughter walked in a nearby park several days ago. At a distance on the manicured green ball park outfield she noticed a round dark shape. Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a creature belonging in the Braeburn Marsh not very far away. She hurried back to the house to summon me with…
