If my dog could explain to you my job, he would probably say I have been assigned to move rocks. Not because my dog is well-versed in metaphors, but because one of our daily rituals is to go to a nearby stream where he can play in the water and I’ve taken to moving rocks….
Tag: black holes
to hell in a handbasket
What does success look like as we flail towards hell in a handbasket? I interpret that phrase to mean a lack of accountability, a lull into complacency, passivity – a space between being trapped and self-imposed constraints. In looking up the phrase a painting from 1515 is referenced, “Hieronymous Bosch painting “The Haywain” (c. 1515) (in the Prado,…
perhaps the only story I need to tell
He gets back in the silver sedan, carrying away my whole sense of self. I think about going home, and instead have another beer at the cafe before closing time. I turn to go home, stop at the bodega for another beer, and walk past my house to sit by the river. I am still…
The PH.D. I earned in my sleep
Stress dreams are a reflection of the seen and unseen stress of our waking lives. In general they are not fantasies set in unreal landscapes cavorting with mystical animals. Stress dreams too often are a photocopy of the days – a little blurred, lacking detail, washed out colors but intensified reactions, complex inner narratives, and…
inoculation to the prescient future
As a child my grandparents gave me $25 for Hanukkah and $50 for my birthday, every year from the age of six to sixteen. Only once did I spend any of that money, $15 for a Barbie car, but every other check was deposited directly into my own savings account at the Bank. I still…
universe, I get it, message received loud and clear
I don’t always discuss the specifics of my life, but these are too good not to share. If you have been reading as of late, you know that I am taking a year away from being a classroom teacher to focus on my writing. It is also time for me to reflect on my career…
yell in the face of treacherous, ugly underwater hidden beasts that rule our society
What strikes me on a daily basis is how much I relied on my role as a teacher to cement my sense of a purpose in this world; that is what I miss the most about teaching. Under the blanket of paperwork, bureaucracy, media criticism, district policies obeyed or ignored, I could always point to…
the only certainty is uncertainty
This will sound outlandish, but the 9/11 attacks occurred at the perfect time in my life. I did not profit nor truly suffer from that tragedy, but it did help to frame my world view. I had already come to understand true poverty by seeing children with distended bellies and victims of leprosy in the…
only fools fall in love…with words
who would ever be foolish enough to fall in love with words, words are devilish, hiding among us waiting to pounce words contain dangers unforeseen, and we walk among them blind as can be words can communicate so much, or nothing at all. images, scents, sensations can be understood throughout this wide world. even numbers…
remedies for cabin fever from a bonafide homebody
I am an only child who was raised by parents who strongly believed that children should have their own interior and exterior worlds (also known as get out of my face and entertain yourself). Coupled with the fact that most of my dearest friends live many borders away and I have an adorable matching set…
public impotence yet aroused by tragedy porn
Things I have learned this week through simply a cursory read of my Facebook feed and pre-chewed news sites.: Israel is invading Gaza, once again the Ukraine has weapons, one strong enough that is took down a commercial airplane on that plane were key researchers trying to solve the riddle of HIV/AIDS Tracy Morgan is…
hey, so by the way, you are racist
A recent article in the guardian put words and a definition to how racism has mutated: “Gone is the overt, violent, and legal racism of my childhood. It has been replaced by a subtler version. It is a racism that is easier to ignore, easier to deny, and consequently almost as dangerous.” – Chris Arnade http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/12/america-racism-subtle-dangerous-new-york…
