I had a dirt path epiphany this week. A grounding, as it were. We moved to this mostly paved, though very rural, island nine months ago. Previously, we lived an isolated 45-miles-from-a-decent-grocery-store, dirt road lifestyle on a lake in the Ozarks. Now that we’ve been here for nine months, a period equal to full term […]
It’s the August full moon of midsummer, a time which always brings back memories of summer Sundays at my grandparents’ cottage on a lake in Massachusetts. By 4th of July, the hand-dug well on our farm had always gone dry so baths and shampoos were out of the question. As a substitute for Saturday nights […]
After flights totaling 21 hours, we wearily checked into the El Mansour Hotel in the old Medina of Casablanca, Morocco. Roger left me in the dark shuttered room while he hailed a cab to pick up our rent-a-car. “I’ll be right back,” he said. That was more than 40 years ago. February 1975. Our honeymoon. […]
Today is the 80th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet. I am honored to say that my article— What Do You Give To a Man Who Has Nothing? —has just been published on elephantjournal.com. ……………………… What Do You Give a Man Who Have Nothing? The Wall St. Journal had an article on […]
(Author’s Note, after the fact: I just counted 5 “fears”, 1 “fearless” and 5 “loves” in this post. You can’t have too much love, but 5 fears is crazy. This is not one of my better pieces.) I’ve been reading Buddhist beliefs lately, not in search of a new religion, but as a willing student […]
Yes, your mother (or grandmother) made it possible for you to have one less worry in your wild life. Your mother made it possible for you to hook up with your lover without the fear of pregnancy. Your mother made it possible for you to complete the joy of intimacy by making a physical connection […]
I confess that I am in the midst of a very long, ongoing love affair—with islands. Many islands. I have yielded to their temptation in many seas—some repeatedly—and each island has shared its unique characteristics abundantly and unabashedly. The most valued aspect of these island affairs is that they have taught me the principles of […]
Judge Not There was a man on the train platform. It doesn’t matter what race he was, or what age he was, or the color of his eyes. He approached me with calm determination and a vacant look. Me, in my traveler black with the silver suitcase and an American Express card in the zippered […]
Friday was a brilliant day at the water’s edge on Puget Sound. Sparkling water, blue skies with cotton candy clouds. A contagious atmosphere of summer celebration was in the air as toddlers splashed at the edge of the icy water and a handful of sailboats marked the horizon. A busload of school kids was picnicking […]
NOTE: I’m back! Whew. I had password trouble with this site on & off for months. *This is a post that I originally wrote and posted here TEN years ago! In retrospect, it still makes sense to me… even as I find myself 10 years closer to the end of the line that I spoke […]
