Sun’s-day Moon-day Tiw’s-day Woden’s-day Thor’s-day Frig’s-day Saturn’s-day Thunor, god of thunder and Frig, goddess of growing things and fertility…. Perhaps it is both human and wise, like King Redwald, to keep in favor with both sides. Two altars were constructed side by side. At one altar the king partook of bread and wine, “the…
Am reading about England of 1000 AD. The book by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger is an enjoyable read of the conditions of life in the Middle Ages, dealing with Viking raids, settlements by the Norsemen, and the development of Christianity. I imagine the story as a time capsule sent to me from my…
Yeah, I know the word “luck” is totally plebeian, tarnished with the soil of ignorance and superstition. We may resist using the term preferring instead gussied up circumlocutions such as “in sync with the universe.” Is there any difference? Does not luck in all of it’s variations touch the finite nature of our knowledge,…
Is this how a member of a bomber crew felt upon return from a WWII mission upon sighting the cliffs of Dover and England below? Maybe. At the end of a visit to my home town, I hope to board the American Airlines jet shortly, for transport back to Chicago. A visit to my…
Our first day in town featured dinner at Dame’s Chicken and Waffles on Main Street. The rather small restaurant-bar delivers on it’s promise. “Southern fried perfection meets sweet European decadence.” The menu reflects an era when jazz musicians would finish their gigs in New York City. They’d find a Chicken and Waffles joint open till…
By noon I will be boarding an American Airlines plane at O’hare. After enclosure, sardine like, in the silver-aluminum tube, with good fortune, I will emerge two hours later in North Carolina. I expect the air to be warmer and scented with pine needles. The people will be vaguely familiar with respect to voice…
Reno is a friend who stops by to say hello nearly every morning, as I contemplate my computer screen at Starbucks. A bit of small talk is exchanged and sometimes a good story. Reno with a wry smile and irony in his voice told me of an experience on the job yesterday. He works…
Did you ever read about a frog Who dreamed of bein’ a king And then became one Well except for the names And a few other changes If you talk about me The story’s the same one… Heard this song played today and I knew that I had to write about it. It is…
Walked around the block early this morning. The early spring thunderstorm left the ground wet and the grass emerald green. I believe in the concept of resurrection, that newness seemingly comes out of nothing: ex nihilio. After winters deep sleep, the emergence of green, a constellation of tiny leaves covering the apple tree, robins…
How do I not ruminate on the meaning of Easter? Raised a fundamentalist Christian, I was and am shaped by the stories of the Bible, especially those of Christ’s passion. The facts of the story are grim, and the happy ending has been added by interpretation, a after-the-fact postscript. Life is like that though. …
