Tom Petty passed away over the weekend. He was one year younger than I. There was vitality and nourishment for the spirit in those songs coming over the radio. I am sorry that I did not choose to see him live in concert when I had the opportunity. I’ve always liked this song, “Runnin’…
Durham of my youth was a sleepy town, seldom in the news. This changed with the advent of the Civil Rights movement of the mid 1960s. Durham was in the news recently. A crowd demonstrating against the implicit racism of the Trump administration pulled down the statue of the confederate solder that has stood…
Its Sunday morning. A few fellow guests join me for my morning coffee here at the Holiday Inn. I cannot help but overhear the collegial conversation of three older males, and several young adult males planning for a baseball game later in the day. I’d lay odds that the older guys are coaches, and…
A warm Fall evening is the perfect time for a walking exploration of Main Street Durham. The old street is substantially arrayed in 21st Century commerce and entertainment. Upscale Salons, Bars, Silicon Valley type incubators for fledgling business startups, and of course the restaurants, make up the mix of tenants for the old 20th…
Here I am in my hometown, Durham, North Carolina. It is hardly worth mention that much has changed since I left for the big city. The truism that “one cannot go home again,” is true with the sadness that is endemic to time. This place has changed and so have I. What was a…
Another day of news. What is to be done for wrecked Puerto Rico? It is surreal. The residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens. For all practical purposes the island has been treated as a colony, stripped of wealth. The hurricane, a random, impartial Act-Of-Nature has pushed the island deeper into the debt-hole that…
Its September 24, mid afternoon, and 90 degrees. According to the calendar it is Fall but you’d never know. It has been a while since an adequate rain, and the grass is fading from green to tan. I do not expect to become accustomed to these predicted unseasonal extreme-weather events. There will be no…
I can’t prove this. And I have no idea how data could be collected and interpreted. I think that we are a composite of our ancestors, parents, grandparents, extending backward….. the times in which they lived, their failures, successes, triumphs, and defeats –all add up to form the backdrop, the emotional ground tone of…
A coffee shop can be a “home” away from home. For the price of a cup of coffee one can just be, hangout, find solitude with others, for reading, for ones thoughts, or for observing human nature expressed in behavior and the dress of patrons. Coffee Shops are essential public spaces. My customary spot…
It was dark when I walked in the door here at Safai Coffee shop on Bardstown Road in Louisville. At 7AM just myself and two baristas compose the crowd. There is comfort to darkness. The relative quiet of morning with slight traffic noise leaves the mind undisturbed. We need darkness. Darkness is context for…
