MY NEXT RIDE: A FANTASY Clarification: Not my last ride. As enjoyable as it appears, there comes a point during the fantasy when the Corvette Stingray that I have eyes for turns into a pumpkin rotting in a cold October field. Discovering that the MSRP begins at 60 grand, before bells and whistles, chokes the … More A Harmless Side Trip
https://www.boston.com/news/science/2019/04/11/mit-katie-bouman-black-hole We all have experienced black holes somewhere along our own timelines. Some of us continue to be threatened with annihilation should we accidentally fall into the gravitational pull of the beast. An interesting find of mine is I can sense the presence of a black hole; the type that exists here on this planet … More Black Holes and Bad Memories
Way back in 1960, my last year on USS Sirago SS-485, there was a young man name Jim Piehl. He was an engineman striker, which means he was trained as an engineman but was unrated. Jim was a good worker. More than good. He was an outstanding worker and his mates liked him a lot. … More Remembering Jim Piehl
ABLUTION: His own Word-of-the-Day. As he performed, he thought of his age and his seeming gain on life’s attendant ignorance that living long brings. Words that came to him naturally went unusable. He did not know their meaning. As life passed, he took time, exponentially, to learn. Today’s word is “ablution”. He just performed it … More It Refines
The first session of the workshop in prison is designed for introductions. We make up a name for ourselves that contains our first name preceded by an adjective that is spelled with the first letter the same as our first name. I am Gentle George. We go around and take turns repeating all the names … More Unfamiliar
Originally posted on Winter in Quito:
Que le vaya bien is a common farewell phrase that loosely translated means, “Hope everything goes well.” On March 14th, my last day working at Fundación Minadores de Sueños, these words were frequently spoken as I exchanged goodbyes with the children and staff members. Traditionally, when a volunteer finishes…
Originally posted on Winter in Quito:
March 4th and 5th was a national holiday in Ecuador—Carnaval. This holiday is apparently celebrated worldwide although only regionally in the United States, primarily in New Orleans, where it is called Mardi Gras. In Ecuador, it marks the beginning of Lent and also honors the indigenous Kichwa holiday of…
I have a ton of projects to take care of. Since the age of 13 or 14. The list began then and has never diminished in length shorter than 40 or 50 items. I think this is the real meaning of life. To get comfortable with ‘sloth’. I’m almost there. For the past hour and … More Avoidance Behavior
SAILOR, REST YOUR OAR Lost Harbor by Leslie Nelson Jennings There is a port of no return, where ships May ride at anchor for a little space And then, some starless night, the cable slips, Leaving an eddy at the mooring place . . . Gulls, veer no longer. Sailor, rest your oar. No tangled … More “Sailor, rest your oar”
I was heading south toward Spring City, Tennessee on I-81. What a night it had been. High winds and blinding rain on back in Virginia running alongside the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dark, windy, rainy and scary too. More than scary really. Hair-raising, daunting, fearsome, alarming sound good too. I was unblinking-tired. There was no way … More A Memorable Evening
Playing Fair and Being Kind 