If you see today’s post a little later than usual, kindly forgive me, I’m not quite yet into the groove of my winter quarters here in Tucson. For one thing, the time zone is different, and I am asleep and awake at off-hours. I do not enjoy being wide awake when it is still dark […]
Take Off
These days, Thursday morning is ordinarily the time I finish writing these posts. It’s a reasonable goal that I seldom accomplish. I give the piece a “final” reading but never publish it immediately. Usually, I spend additional time revising or editing. For many reasons, I can be slow to put pen to paper. Maybe I […]
Preparing for the Journey
Eight days from today Lola the Pup and I bid farewell to Robyn. Then, for the third consecutive year, we’re off to our Winter quarters in the American Southwest. I take this annual extended journey solely for me. The destination is not nearly as important as the journey. No one lives without regret; it’s a […]
For Us, An Uneventful New Year
Robyn had set her alarm. She wanted to see a local television countdown to the New Year but dozed right through it. Each year her favorite weather gal and handsome on-air partner perform a music and dance routine, followed by a slew of “media personalities” and minor performers. The program was about the last I […]
A Happy Holiday
The gray, overcast, and snow-less Christmas morning had left me listless, especially after two or three virtually identical days preceding it. The gray seemed to get to Lola the Pup, who lolled nearby on the day bed watching me as I half-heartedly worked my arms and shoulders with the thick exercise bands. Mont invited me […]
Soup and Sandwich
I met Paul and Joann for a “holiday” luncheon. Paul is Lee’s brother; Joanne is his wife. I hadn’t seen Paul for several months, and it is more than one year since I last saw Joanne. I had just finished parking my car and was about to feed a meter when I saw them exit […]
Taking Account at Year’s End
In my family, December is dying time. Mom passed away in December a few months before Lee and I married. I still can see my father crying softly during our wedding ceremony, sitting by himself, his wife of more than fifty years gone from his side. Thirteen years later, on a Sunday in December, Dad, […]
Stop Feeling Guilty
In 2014, Dr. Lucy C. Hone, a director at the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience and a university researcher witnessed a motorist slam his car into a car that was carrying her young daughter, instantly killing the child. See https://ideas.ted.com/sorrow-and-tragedy-will-happen-to-us-all-here-are-3-strategies-to-help-you-cope/ (Nov. 13, 2019). She recalls, “Suddenly, I was the one on the receiving […]
Taking a Pause
Lee had directed to be cremated, like her folks. Some of Lee’s cremains are now a part of her beloved Deer Tick Manor, but I have ashes that still must be spread. Next year will mark the fifth anniversary of her passing, and I’m trying to decide where and how best to fulfill my sad […]
No More Mr. Nice Guy
For the second year, I am a volunteer tutor. By agreement of all involved, once more I am tutoring Zoey, who has advanced to the sixth grade. Her new middle school curriculum in our tutoring program still focuses on math, reading, and developing social skills. However, this year Zoey’s family, especially her father and older […]
My Sole Qualification
After a long evening of taking in election returns and analysis, I woke up, hungover, not fully recovered from the sleep deprivation. I also faced a sudden, unexpected housecleaning crisis, when, after nearly five years of reliably working for me, Julia simply failed to show up yesterday as scheduled without a word. My sneaking suspicion […]
Parting
Yesterday, I got a bill from the lawyer who handles my estate plan. I have been tweaking this plan from time to time and still need to confirm the most recent changes. It is a simple plan, given I don’t have a wife or kids to consider, but I seem to spend undue time agonizing […]