I am a chopper of wood and carrier of water, a keeper of bees, digger of soil, and washer of dishes, but when people ask me "what do you do" I usually satisfy them with "I'm in information technology." If they really want to know, I'll tell them about the decade as a wilderness guide. Some jobs are vocations, some are avocations, but that one was an evocation. I also wrangle pixels and try to herd them into representations of coherent thoughts, which is a provocation. :-)
The tapping begins just after daybreak and continues intermittently until dusk. It is the sound of Splash, the flat-headed cardinal, attacking his reflection in the window. Splash descends from a long line of head-bangers, though I suspect there is no survival value for male cardinals who dull their beaks against glass. His great-grandfather was the … More Reflections Of The Enemy
Last week I ripped up the stairs to our deck. They were built in 2019 with “premium” pressure-treated pine, coated with stain and maintained on a sunny south-facing wall. They looked fine on the surface, but inside they were black with rot, spongy, the grain splitting like cheap veneer. The deck was built in 1987 … More Men of Oak, Men of Particle Board
Last week, we wrote “A Shadow on the Badge,” remembering some of the misfortunes afflicting the Towns County Sheriff’s Office over the past half-century; misfortunes that seem disproportionate to the small size of our community. A few folks—among the unfortunate number who inform their opinions by reading headlines—thought the article was unsupportive of law enforcement. … More A Shadow Is Not A Stain
Towns County captures the essence of rural America in the quiet allure of our rolling hills and inspiring mountain views. With a small population of just 13,000, it’s a close-knit community with a shared history of resilience connecting neighbors who truly know each other’s stories. Yet, beneath this peaceful exterior, a troubling history emerges. It … More A Shadow Over The Badge
“Man is the only animal that blushes, or needs to.” —Mark Twain Did you ever find yourself on a familiar stretch of road repeating a conversation you had the last time you were there? That happens to Tracey and me frequently enough that if the subject of the revived conversation was unpleasant, we have a … More In Our Wake
It’s chilly this morning, but there is a sunny spot in the backyard where the makings of this year’s last tomato sandwich cling bravely to the vine in defiance of the changing seasons and the cold air that flows down from the mountain now, turning sourwoods crimson. The tomatoes were exceptionally good this year, and … More Tomatoes on the Vine
September is a beautiful month, but there is something dolorous in the fading of flowers and the shortening of days that reminds us that summer does not last forever. There is another empty chair at our table now. We lost Tracey’s brother in September, my friend, Michael Betz, who passed away peacefully at home, leaving … More A Completion
“I may have told you this before, but I’m going to tell it again.” These were the words that preceded many a “Floyd Story,” the name coined by the kids in our circle of friends who grew up listening to my dad’s jokes, remembrances, and often-repeated tales. Dad’s sense of humor was in some ways … More Can’t We Just Listen To Music?
Truth remains the same, though it is often decorated or disguised, even obscured to fit the times. In 1896, H. G. Wells wrote, “There is very little deliberate wickedness in the world. The stupidity of our selfishness gives much the same results indeed…” Robert Heinlein echoed the thought in 1941 when he wrote, “You have … More Hanlon’s Razor
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.” “Surely some … More Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Outside The Box 