Night Noise "Ave Maria, Gratia Plena, Dominus Tecum." Mothers don't pray like the rest of us. I learned that long ago. As a boy. Have a brother at war and you'll learn lots of secrets about your Mother. She seemed the same lady … but she wasn't. Everybody went about growing up. The house kept … Continue reading The War Mother
Category: Lessons
Leave ‘Em Alone
“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
The Agog Mob and Why Elections Matter
For those who don't yet feel rescued by last year's election ... here's a sobering x-ray of our diseased self. This speaks to our current embarrassment as a nation ... and as a scary squint into our tomorrow ... and the likelihood that this nation might not survive an outbreak of poison ivy ... or … Continue reading The Agog Mob and Why Elections Matter
Tell Me No Lies
The great philosopher Elvis Presley once said ... "Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away." The King would probably see lots of suspicious lies in this education madness ... and be all shook up over the lack of truth. Okay! ... no more campy … Continue reading Tell Me No Lies
Lady Madonna
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
Unhurry Your Child …
I am not so young anymore. I lug around lots of memory stuff ... flashbacks I mostly keep to myself because ... because they're only important to me. But sometimes I see something ... or hear something ... and I have a " if only I knew then, what I know now" moment. So I … Continue reading Unhurry Your Child …
Educational Idiocy
There is no virtue in making children so brave that they might withstand the idiocy of adults. If schools think education is all about testing …. they’ve already forfeited their privilege to enjoy your child. Remember that. This testing madness has the tell-tale symptoms of a sick obsession … a creepy neurosis that screams of … Continue reading Educational Idiocy
A Pious Frenzy
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
Street Lights
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
If Not You, Who? This Is A School, Not China
This is a school. It has no secret powers over you ... or your child. A mother was threatened by school officials because she expressed her opinion on Facebook. She was "warned" that she might be banned from the campus ... and perhaps barred from school activities ... if she didn't smother her opinions. … Continue reading If Not You, Who? This Is A School, Not China
Missives Worth Reading 