When I was in elementary school, my Dad stopped smoking. He has told me two stories about this. One involves a simple observation: every time he answered the phone at the office, he lit a cigarette. His doctor had told him to quit, of course, but the sudden realization that he was behaving like one … Continue reading Knowing When to Stop →

This post is my response to the revolting behavior on Capitol Hill. One scene in the movie, “Dances with Wolves,” still resonates with me. The US Cavalry had captured and beaten Lt. Dunbar. They believed the Sioux were “hostiles” and should be dealt with accordingly. It was clear to Dunbar that their minds were made … Continue reading Who is Worth Talking To? →

It’s January 2 – again. I can now log one more trip on a beautiful little planet around a relatively small star in a galaxy 100,000 light-years across. That star is one of 400 billion in this galaxy, which is only one of 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. There are over 7.8 billion … Continue reading 30,000 Lifetimes →

“Our freedom is precious. Priceless, in fact. There is nothing greater. Patrick Henry said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ We are nothing without our freedom, so nothing must stand in our way as we pursue it,” Adam reached his conclusion. “We must clear away anything…or anyone…that stands in the way of freedom. If … Continue reading A Parable Within a Parable →

Some people consider oysters a delicacy. Others have religious objections to eating creatures that live in shells. Some people are allergic to them. And others just happen to like them. But I don’t like them. I also don’t like okra very much, except maybe in soup. I consider okra the oyster of the plant kingdom. … Continue reading Six Oysters →

My reaction to the recent press conference by the Georgia Secretary of State. That’s a character-builder,” my Dad said as I studied my next shot. The ball was halfway behind a tree, with no easy path to the green. I could risk it, with a nine-out-of-ten chance that the ball would hit the tree and … Continue reading It Has To Stop →

“I don’t want to! I don’t have to! You can’t make me!” I probably said something like this as a child. I know I’ve heard children say things like this all my life. A child will promise you anything if it means he can get his way. Many adults even promise they will do this … Continue reading Childishness →

One of my favorite memories from the 1970’s is car shopping with my Dad. As I recall it, we were looking at a 1973 Chrysler Town and Country Station Wagon. The floor model had cruise control. At one point, Dad asked the salesman if he knew how cruise control worked. When the man admitted he … Continue reading Trust →

This morning I was trying to fix some scans of deteriorating snapshots. A few of them were of black and white persons – together – on a sofa – in the south, no less! I noticed that photographically speaking, it’s hard to get a good picture of black people and white people together, especially if … Continue reading What I Learned from Old Photos →

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused me to think about a lot of things – many of them all at once. The impermanence of life. The shortsightedness of leaders. The hubris of the fortunate. The political ambitions of religion. The hopes I have for the next generation. My latest story, “In a Twinkling…,” a fantasy about … Continue reading Covid Questions →