I remember a visit to a county fair. It happened when I was fourteen or fifteen. The occasion was memorable because I was not accompanied by my parents. I recall the glitter of the midway lights in the dark night, the aroma of cotton candy, and candied apples. Also the smell of sawdust, and…
I stopped in at the Roadster Shop several days ago with my camera. As usual I asked and was given permission to shoot a few photos of their work which is displayed on the showroom lobby of the business. There were a number of interesting, truly amazing works of automotive art on display, but only…
Days end yesterday I read the poem Gerontion by T. S. Eliot. That was my second reading of the poem this week. I was taken by Eliot’s words. Scholarly analysts say Gerontion is one of his most enigmatic works. There is much enigma in all of Eliot’s poems. Yesterday afternoon I heard that Sergio…
The culture of liberalism should be one which was enlightened, secular, through and through. It would be one in which no trace of divinity remained, either in the form of a divinized world or of a divinized self. Such a culture would have no room for the notion that there are nonhuman forces to…
Perhaps you will agree that a vacation time away permits one some different choices about the foci of one’s attention. In our ordinary lives, the “blind impress” of accrued circumstances can be oppressive. We feel the need to “get away” to a destination affording different scenery, perhaps time for more reading, fewer phone calls,…
What a great week of vacation! A friend expressed surprise that so many of us stayed happily together in a big house for seven days. Actually we had plenty of room, there were many things to do, and we like being together. We had some wonderful meals together, lots of good conversation, and three…
A few photographs capture the memory of a day of being out and about in the wine country of Michigan. Everyone gets to be a child again while on vacation. We will not forget the time spent at Bumbelberry Acres picking blueberrys, and the visit to the petting zoo. We heard the story of…
A great body of water is compelling. When I was a kid family vacation involved spending a few days at Carolina Beach. The car trip to the seaside always involved mounting excitement the closer our destination. I gazed intently from the side window straining for a first glimpse of the ocean. That first…
I checked the map to learn that I am in Hagar Michigan, just a bit south of Benton Harbor. Shortly after arriving at our rental house we walked down the road, then through the woods, taking the wooden stairway down through the ravine to the beach of sand at the waters edge. Lake Michigan…
Each of us desired to be happy, once. As the years pass many give up the quest and the hope of happiness. Happiness, the contentment of well-being diminishes as time takes its toll. It’s not a matter of money. Financial resources while necessary to happiness are not sufficient. The most important aspects of happiness…
