Retired Navy after 23 years. I retired at the age of 40 years old. I've been out longer than I was in. All of the ships I served on have been made into razor blades. I had fun and I lived my life the best I could. Most of my shipmates are gone and I try to stay in touch with the remainder. It continues. Substance abuse counselor, builder of wooden boats, furniture maker, prison non-violence workshop facilitator, life observer, activist, reader, writer, geriatric subject of interest, generous tipper. I stay involved.
I really don’t have the blahs; I just needed to make a play on words. However we are experiencing a drought of sorts here in Maine. Luckily we have wells that are providing water from aquifers deep within the earth. In fact, I’ve heard from semi-questionable resources, those aquifers carry water all the way from … More Chutneys, Razorbacks, and the Summertime Blahs
We’re in the second half of Baseball Season. I haven’t been to a game in ages. I might try to before I leave for New Mexico. I always pay attention to what is happening on the field. I learned to from the first days I ever walked onto a ball field. Baseballs are like rocks … More Mansplaining Can Be Hazardous To Your Health!
The first of August. Summer in Maine is gorgeous. The Castle is looking good. I will have this month and a little of September to enjoy it. Then I will leave for New Mexico to start a new project doing workshops using the Alternatives to Violence Project training methods. I look forward to that new … More Rabbit, Rabbit!
I have a gang of characters who travel with me. I know I’m not alone in this so don’t get smart. (Laughter) Here is a story that came out of this phenomenon recently. I carry good, bad, and ugly situations around and I entertain myself easily with replays. Sometimes I win all of the arguments. … More Are We Ever Really Alone?
Where I choose to sit for most of the day has a nice view of the land that surrounds The Castle. From this seat and through that glass door I can see the Universe. I can see forward and backward for Centuries and I can see some of the simplest most pleasurable objects and events. … More The Best Things in Life are Free (well, not quite)
“SOME DAYS CHICKEN, SOME DAYS FEATHERS” So says the older fox who has learned that ‘this too shall pass’ is quite accurate. Whether you’re having a good day or a bad day or an intermediate day you can bet your bottom dollar that it will pass and one or the other will show up. Yesterday … More Some Days Chicken, Some Days Feathers
Triggers are funny in that they intervene in a variable sense. Humans are such complex creatures in that our moods linger and flare and play around with us so that the slightest intervening variable will trip up the whole mess in an instant. Something happened today that altered my mood tremendously. I’ll not get into … More Nostalgia, Melancholy, and a Rare Bit of Loneliness
You know, sometimes thoughts come and linger and a tale begins to form into sentences and images. I can entertain myself with the images and the words that would convey the sense of feeling and thought accurately. That is the object as far as I can tell. If a thought morphing into an entertaining tale … More It’s Never Too Late (to be the good son)
NOCTURNAL CREATURES Leaning back in my chair with eyes raised to the sky I could see all the way to forever. It was around midnight in the South Pacific. We were steaming for Sydney from Honolulu passing the strings of islands that make up archipelagos that dot that part of the world. I leaned back … More Nocturnal Creatures
Now there’s a loaded question, eh? I found a poem I wrote during a particularly difficult period after my first, or inaugural, winter drive to the left coast in 2012. I’d returned to find my house empty of wife, furnishing, personal belongings, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. This poem reflects the dark nature of humans, certainly my … More What’s Hiding in You?
Playing Fair and Being Kind 