On her way out of town for the holidays, my wife texted me with a message that restored my faith in humanity. It was a request, not from her, but from or about a neighbor. We don’t really know her all that well. The woman, who lives alone, had recently undergone surgery and would be […]
I smile when I hear people say “I love this song” when they don’t even know the lyrics or what the song is about. Like many, they enjoy the melody, remember one or two catchy words from the lyrics and then infer the meaning of an entire song from that. Take for instance the song […]
While needing to impose some “forced” relaxation recently, I listened with eyes closed and attentive ear to the beautiful piano piece ‘Clair de Lune” by Claude Debussy, part of the four-movement suite Bergamasque. In doing so, I could feel my pulse slow down. Debussy composed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and often […]
I met my new friend on the dock and after exchanging some pleasantries, we boarded his dinghy with my gear bag to head back to the trawler now sitting quietly at anchor in the river. He drove like an old islander he had met long ago, standing upright in the dinghy, holding firmly to the […]
Long ago, my high-school friend was engaged in one of “those” conversations with his mother. He was behind the wheel as they drove down “The Pike”, that highway between our towns. In response to her question – something like ‘whaddaya want to do with your life’ – he started “I want to help make the […]
I get dismissive when I hear people habitually use trite, worn-out expressions as a response. It’s like they are pre-loaded on the tip of the tongue and just come driveling out. It feels to me that maybe it’s a crutch so they don’t have to think or process what the conversation is about. Especially so […]
Some memories creep in slowly, a great effort made to push past the fog. Others rip down the curtains and flood your brain like a searing flash of light. This is one such memory. [PLEASE CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE TO CONTINUE READING] When visiting London years ago, I stayed in the shadow of Buckingham […]
The request started off innocuously enough – visit this website and write a note or a letter in honor of one of those special birthdays for a childhood friend. It encouraged me to sit back, relax and think of some good times and memories that I shared with her. [PLEASE CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE […]
At about the same time last week that I walked through the gates of the Polynesian Cultural Center on the island of Oahu, the US Census Bureau released its preliminary results of the 2020 Census. “The United States grew significantly more diverse over the past decade, as the populations of people who identify as Hispanic […]
You would think it to be a simple exercise. My nonagenarian father made a simple request that, when the time comes, a park bench be erected in his memory along the path where he has walked daily for so many years. He wants a bronze plaque extolling the virtue of a good daily walk as […]