Boxes, bins, bags. Stuff. Where does it come from? Stuff expands to fill the space. And when we run out of space at home we rent storage units. I wonder at the number of storage facilities I see springing up everywhere. Who stores all that stuff? And what is it? Does anyone, besides the owners […] (Read more)
Last Wednesday I blogged about rituals. After publishing the post I continued to think about rituals. What is the difference between a ritual and a habit, I wondered. A ritual, as I wrote in the previous post, is a customarily repeated act or series of acts. Habit, on the other hand, implies an act done […] (Read more)
A ritual is a customarily repeated series of acts. A couple of days ago, while leafing through The Daily Writer, I read about the rituals of writing. The piece didn’t speak to me; but, the idea of “ritual” stuck. The LA Times crossword puzzle is a ritual, an act, repeated every morning. Little, if anything, […] (Read more)
Robbie, my nine year old Chocolate Labrador Retriever, was my gift to myself on my sixtieth birthday. I made the decision to get a dog after not having had one for a number of years. I wanted a Lab and thought always of a female yellow Lab who I would call Maggie. I am not […] (Read more)
I received orders to the USS Nereus, AS-17, a submarine tender stationed at Ballast Point, the submarine pier, at Point Loma in San Diego. I had just completed a twenty-four week electronic technician training course at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. A native Californian and unaccustomed to winter, I was grateful to leave behind the […] (Read more)
Writing allows me to explore the landscape of my life. Intellectual curiosity is an important element of my life’s landscape. Working in college and research libraries gave me the luxury of indulging my curiosity almost any time. My library reference skills are a valuable asset. Maximum service is my reference service philosophy: Do everything possible […] (Read more)
My satellite radio is tuned to classical music. Soothing. Not intrusive. Classical music represents beauty, harmony, peace. Passages of music catch the periphery of my consciousness. I know this piece, I think. The fourth movement of the Sibelius second symphony. I greet it as an old friend. The music fades into the background like the […] (Read more)
Dennis: There’s a story I want to write. But, every time I begin, it never goes anywhere. I’m not certain if it’s a novel, a memoir, biography, personal essay, what. But, there is a story. I know there is. It keeps nagging me. Sarah: When it nags you, what do you do? Dennis: I avoid […] (Read more)
Sometimes life hands you a metaphor.—Cheryl Strayed In talking about her bestselling book, Wild, at the San Miguel Writers Conference in February, Cheryl Strayed said, “some times life hands you a metaphor.” The idea struck a chord. I made a note. Three days later, I tripped and fell. I skinned my face, my hands. I […] (Read more)
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s collection of free-verse poems in tribute to America, was first published in 1855. I was introduced to Whitman by my friend, Richard. I was twenty. Richard was forty. Richard had a degree in literature from Bard College. I thought he was brilliant; he became a sort of intellectual godfather and […] (Read more)