New Jersey

A little boy plays in sand while his mother kneels over him and helps.

Four adult siblings relearn the values of home when visiting for their father’s Celebration of Life. The four of us decided that the Celebration of Life event for our father should take place in the small town in New Jersey where he lived for over 50 years and where we grew up. He moved away […]

Read More… from New Jersey

A Stubborn Pandemic

A male figure walks through a dark tunnel towards a dramatic circle of light.

We don’t have a packaged remedy for this pandemic. In the early days of the one we just experienced, we sold quite a lot of products that boosted the immune system. Everyone, it seemed, was interested in whatever defensive support they could get, even as the world we knew changed and we volunteered to isolate. […]

Read More… from A Stubborn Pandemic

RESTORATION

Carpenter using orbital electric sander in a retro vintage workshop.

There are a couple restoration “projects” in my shop awaiting my attention and energy. At the time of committing to one of them, a friend of mine said “just leave it in position and patch it there”. His opinion, not misguided, highlights the difference between repairing something and restoring something. Repairing is simply to make […]

Read More… from RESTORATION

THAT SMILE

A sidewalk chalk artist works on a recreation of the Mona Lisa. Only the face is finished.

I sat comfortably at the Hollow Square conference table in my usual back left-hand corner position, focused and ready to take notes. The presenter, an older gentleman in a suit with a bow tie, queued up music and began a slide show. The track was Nat King Cole’s version of Mona Lisa, a song written […]

Read More… from THAT SMILE

Shared Experiences

Man sitting on a wooden bench

Over the past few months, life circumstances have been such that I have had some significant “shared experiences’ with the time afterwards for observation and reflection. [Please click on the title above to continue reading] I’ve learned there is a huge difference between doing something together vs. going through something together. The former is almost […]

Read More… from Shared Experiences

Hall of Mirrors

A wall of mirrors showing distorted reflections

She entered the room in grace – positive, compassionate and confident. It was in her eyes, her smile, her touch. I observed her interactions with her patient and I could see that what she does and who she is are intricately woven. When she later explained that she came out of retirement for more of […]

Read More… from Hall of Mirrors

4G

Grandfather with grandson.

With great excitement, we welcomed the newest member of our family to a scheduled photo shoot to capture for posterity four generations in a single photo. I know this can be digitally manipulated now, but we know we were all together in that same space and time. When we walked in, the photographer took control, […]

Read More… from 4G

The Weak Ties that Bind Us

Young barista serving coffee to male customer in cafe

Molting is the shedding of “skin, feathers, or a shell to make way for new growth”. We move through our lives in a pulsing progression, development or even reinvention of ourselves. Sometimes, molting for us is just a trial run as we search for something that resonates with what we feel is our authentic selves. […]

Read More… from The Weak Ties that Bind Us

Management 101

Two Female Colleagues Fondly Talk to Each Other, Laugh and Smile while Working on Computers in Diverse Modern Business Office. Experienced Manager and Young Employee Discuss a Fun Analytical Project.

I strolled through the front door knowing only that things would be changed. The last time I was in that building was three years ago on the Friday before the world shut down for the pandemic. About three quarters of the employees had returned to work on site. I set my stuff down in a […]

Read More… from Management 101

Southern Herb