So, one of the features of being human is having a body. You may have noticed. Related to that is necessity, both climactic and social, of finding ways to cover, to clothe. The practical act of clothing keeps people from freezing in winter and can provide a bit of cooling in the heat of summer. The social act if covering the body may most joyously take on artistry with adornment being a… Read More
This morning I had a conversation with a man named Gordon. Gordon is in his 70’s. He’s a big burly man who spent working life among the towering conifers of the Pacific Northwest. To this day he still wears plaids, jeans, suspenders and heavy work boots. His face and hands are sculpted by decades outdoors and his eyes are gray – brown like chips of smoky quartz. We sat at a sidewalk… Read More
Not that the number was that sky-high to begin with – although of late there have been readers from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Israel and Brazil – even one reader from Sierra Leon. I don’t know if all of the countries represented by readers on this little blog are also represented at the Olympics. I can’t because of a lot of things. A lot of work, for starters; and then there’s the super… Read More
There is a man I’ve been watching over the past five years or more. He walks in Laurelhurst Park where I walk. He is around 6 feet tall. His hair is full and dark. His skin is olive. Maybe his ancestors were from the Mediterranean. He is handsome. I see this man often, especially in milder weather. With maybe one exception, he has been holding hands with a quite elderly woman. As… Read More
This morning’s air was filled with water – the marine air that sometimes makes summer visits to Portland from the Oregon coast. I was up early to meet up with friends and underestimated what turned out to be enough moisture to soak almost through my rain coat over the course of my walk. Time with the people I had ventured out to meet was cozy and kind – like brown sugar on… Read More
I could be referring to life in the U.S.A. this week what with the celebrated obstruction of voting rights in Florida, a spate of sensationalized cannibalism and, from our president and senior legislators astonishing bipartisan horror about leaks with not even a mention of concern for human life (aka, collateral damage) or the existence of a “kill list” in the first place. This, my friends, is surely madness whether we are privy… Read More
Last night I got to have a long phone conversation with my friend Barbara Gutkin. Barbara and Terry have known me more than half my life. They also happen to be two of the Americans in 100 Voices – Americans Talk about Change. Barbara and Terry are experimenting with retirement. Barbara retired for a while, then decided to go back to work a few days a week because she missed being active… Read More
My youngest sister just posted this on facebook. Every single person in the picture is a mother now – a fact both astonishing and not. In this photo the mom is my mom, our mom. Here, somewhere in a field in south central Texas, she sits forever 33 with her four little girls, lined up by age. I’m the oldest, the one in all yellow. Also in that forever way, I know… Read More
A few days ago, a poet in Colorado Springs said to me, “I’m really not interested in theory. There is far more that is real in art. I like keeping my work close to life itself.” Later in the afternoon, a first year student at Colorado College said, “It’s been amazing to me to see how much we aren’t told about history in public school. Unless someone tells you, you never really… Read More
Sometimes I turn to internet sources for news updates. Huffington Post, NYT, stories posted to facebook, local papers’ websites for learning about where I am along the road. Often there are stories with photos of crowd scenes. Some are international, but I’m thinking today of domestic stories – Occupy, Tea Party, vigils, protests on the National Mall or at statehouses across the country. In the case of crowd photos from the U.S.,… Read More
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