“Thus reader, I am myself the matter of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your time on so frivolous and vain a subject. So farewell.” Michel de Montaigne wrote this at the opening of his monumental book, Essais (Attempts.) I wonder how seriously he meant that. …

60 years later — I was stunned when I heard of Ray Bradbury’s death in 2012 at the age of 92. Because when I read- devoured- his books back when I was 13, I thought he was dead then. This was a compliment. His writing was timeless, like Shakespeare or Hugo, or Alcott, or…

A lament — I volunteer for things when I can. Don’t ask me why, as this habit has gotten me into some trouble over the years, as I end up in roles I am not suited for…such as board member or adult in the room. …

or lighting a candle — Yet it is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness. W. L. Watkinson The world is a freakin’ $hi+ show, on fire, literally and metaphorically. And what can one person do? World religions have been founded in response to this question; philosophers spend their lives pondering…

Serendipity — I have been pondering the question of what question I should be asking. I’ve been getting nowhere pondering the mystery of why I- or anyone else- have good fortune when other people suffer. I do understand that good fortune can flip to bad in a literal heartbeat, and the flip…

Traveling light — I announced the other day, in the presence of my daughter who knows me too well, that I’d be perfectly content with my knitting and my books. She gave me that look, emphasized by one exquisitely arched eyebrow: Really? Sigh. Maybe not. She has a point. I have accumulated a…

The simplicity of truth — The simplicity of truth My dad once said to me, “When I die, God will have questions for me. But I’m going to have a few for him.” I remember opining (to myself, natch) I don’t think it works that way. But my dad, as you can imagine, wasn’t one to argue with, so…

Do I need one? — I am sitting on a patio overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Nicaragua, about 2 hours south of Managua. It’s a Wednesday in the middle of October, and I have nothing to do that I haven’t assigned myself to do. It’s been more than a year since I…

Cathedrals —