In a moment of despair, floating through the shadows of self-doubt and mental emptiness, I remembered childhood bus trips to the City. At that time, exploring the world, I was freed from the emptiness of waiting at home, reading in my cardboard refrigerator box, caring for action but enduring the sluggishness of an unstructured summer…
The Best Laid Plans: Remembering Hurricane Irene
August 21, 2011 – August 28, 2011 Hurricane Irene was the ninth named storm and first hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season. A trip, August 25, to begin the many trips of my retirement, began with a leisurely journey to the airport for a non-eventful flight to Kansas, not the final destination but a…
The Ubiquitous Gnat
It is that time of the year again – gnat season. The official definition of a gnat is “any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera…They can be both biting and non-biting.” I was happy to learn they have a lifespan of 7 days, which if you have a cloud…
Death of a Child, No Matter the Age
My son-in-law, Simon, disappeared on August 9. While he and my daughter were divorced, he was the father of our very first grandchild and he remained always in our thoughts, if not in our lives that frequently. It has been an exasperating and frightening time as we all grappled with the why of his disappearance. …
The Clock
Many years ago, maybe in the early 1990s, I self-gifted an oak, chiming clock to match my small home office suite. I have cherished this clock for many years, packing it carefully through three moves since that time. Several months ago, the tic toc pendulum continued to move like a metronome, but the hands of…
Verdant
Each morning the omnipresent email nag delivers the “Word for the Day.” Since the pursuit of learning is a lifelong endeavor and to preserve cognitive function, with a coffee cleared head, I read the word, commit it to memory, and use in a sentence to ensure it remains in my central brain-data repository. Today’s word…
The Doctor’s Office
Sitting here humbled by the process of seeing a doctor, especially a gym, , and always nervous about the physical contact, I hazard a glance around the room. The elderly lady in the wheelchair with wispy hair, zebra roots, and a sunken face, appears relaxed. The young women with long stylish curly natural and fabulous…
Insomnia
It’s late. I don’t want to check because it will make me nervous. I have suffered from insomnia since I was 7 years old. Once one is out of elementary school, this is a useful trait. I could study well into the night. I was able to read many books, mostly for entertainment. As an adult,…
King Lear’s Message: Aging and Children
Raising children, taking care of aging parents, continuing professional education, working in high-level administration of an agency…all have given way to retirement and relocation. Living at the beach has provided beautiful sunrises and sunsets best enjoyed with strong drink. My three children are successful professionals and I have two wonderful grandchildren, one on each coast.…
My Son, The Ironman
Several years ago, my cell phone was ringing and as I glanced at the screen, I saw my son calling. He lived on the West Coast. West Coast calls are an amusing mix of adjusting to the time change and discrepant activities. It was mid-afternoon, mid-week. Normally not a usual time for a casual call from him…As…
Life Gets Better 