“Genius is childhood recalled at will.” Charles Baudelaire Know why geniuses are so rare? Because the art of reliving … of remembering … of recollecting ... is lost. Maybe not forever. But it's surely rare. Too many people have no rearview mirrors. No chronicle. The here and now is all that matters. This moment. The right-now-moment. … Continue reading Leave ‘Em Alone
I could never get enough of my mother … because the line was too long. I was the fifth of six sons. Denis in the middle. My situation wasn’t any more desperate than anyone else in the tribe … we were all mother-deprived. But it wasn’t her fault. The poor lady was run-ragged searching … Continue reading Lady Madonna
“Would you know my name If I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same If I saw you in heaven? I must be strong And carry on 'Cause I know I don't belong Here in heaven Would you hold my hand If I saw you in heaven? Would you help me stand … Continue reading Alfie Evans
It’s impossible to tell a story you don’t even know. A jigsaw story with lots of pieces that don’t fit together. But I can’t get this story that I don’t know out of my head. I bought a book I shouldn’t have … at an estate sale. Found it in a danky basement. No one … Continue reading A Pious Frenzy
Guest post Street Lights I was sitting in a diner, only a couple of people around, having their own conversations, taking their time with every movement they made. I sipped on my sprite and looked at the clock on the wall, seeing how slowly the seconds ticked by. I watched as the bubbles from my … Continue reading Street Lights
The long knives are out for teachers caught in this pathetic reform ... wedged in the middle of a mess they didn’t make. The sad and bitter tales … about kids in homework-agony and testing misery ... color lots of teachers unfairly. Tattooing them as grinding task-masters. Cold accomplices. Me-firsts. Bad guys. They're not. Not … Continue reading Can’t You See Me?
“There shall always be love." That buzzed my ear one sticky, summer night … after my father ... the college professor ... got a little rickety with some other dads ... down on the beach. A little too wobbly … after over-sipping. He wasn’t much of a beach guy … or a water guy. He'd … Continue reading Father and Son
You gotta kiss the fish. That’s how summer starts. With a kiss. That was the ritual of the boy and his grandfather. And then it was on to ponds and lakes and streams. A few hours here ... and a few more there. Almost always spur of the moment, grab-the-poles, hit-the-road decisions. Wedged in between … Continue reading Kiss The Fish
I’ve out-lived my father. Isn’t that the saddest achievement? My sons are wonderful men. But they missed out on him … and he missed out on them. Bad timing. He was gone before they had a memory-card. I know something for certain. A strange something. Had he lived for a few more decades … … Continue reading Silver Brushes and White Hair
Missives Worth Reading 