And the photographic evidence is right up ^ there. Last Saturday morning Scoutie and I struck out on our usual city run, which takes us down a couple of tree-line pathways that wind along the Walloomsac River in a sort of parklike setting—same river in fact that delineates the southern boundary of our property—before we … Continue reading Journal Entry: We Have Cicadas!
Morning Miniature 8.30.19
At the same moment summer dug in its heels in earnest, Lucy’s running water was restored, and that is to say, not a moment too soon. The massive hardwoods towering over Bran’s little cottage overflowed with mid-season foliage in a lush and shadowy green, but elsewhere a few dogwoods disclosed the slightest blush of color … Continue reading Morning Miniature 8.30.19
A Message to Lara Spencer (And Her Ilk) about Boys and Ballet
Dancers are the athletes of God. –Albert Einstein Last Thursday, television personality Lara Spencer publicly shamed England’s young Prince George on Good Morning America in front of a live studio audience, taunting him about the ballet classes the young English Royal takes as part of an ambitious program of studies. Ms. Spencer’s observations were tantamount … Continue reading A Message to Lara Spencer (And Her Ilk) about Boys and Ballet
Morning Miniature 8.21.19
Susanna deftly moved the dog leash from her right hand to her left so she could hook her elbow inside Lucy’s and walk two abreast with her down the city sidewalk; at the other end of the leash was Zippy, a plucky little Jack Russell named in homage to Dave Barry’s dog, as immortalized in … Continue reading Morning Miniature 8.21.19
Homecoming Story: My Piano Is Back
At long last, here sits my piano, my mother’s before me, drying out in our Vermont living room. It smells about how you’d imagine any piece of wood furniture with metal and felt and other materials might after deteriorating in a damp basement garage for the past five winters, and summers, through as many or … Continue reading Homecoming Story: My Piano Is Back
Vacation Postscript: It’s Still Summer, Dammit
But you’d never know it from the ‘seasonal’ departments in all the big box retailers. I defy you to visit one and find that thing you had your eye on for your backyard deck or patio a couple weeks ago, but decided to think on it: ‘Tis gone, gone, gone now, and in its place—Crayola … Continue reading Vacation Postscript: It’s Still Summer, Dammit
Morning Miniature 7.31.19
Diffuse light filtered through trees outside the bedroom window, not much of it to be sure, but Cessily positioned herself resourcefully on Claudia and Cecil’s lumpy bed so that she could use what there was of it. She grasped the little dog-eared book, a secondhand collection of rhyming stories, and tilted it so that the … Continue reading Morning Miniature 7.31.19
Travel Journal: Knoxville in a Day
I feel less connected to Knoxville every time I go back there, a thing that makes me all kinds of sad, but also somehow helps propel me forward, make my peace with where I am now. Don’t get me wrong: I shall never be a proper Yankee, but will remain forever a Southerner, wherever I … Continue reading Travel Journal: Knoxville in a Day
Morning Miniature 7.25.19
Cessily noticed the shiny grommets around the window first, and then grew interested in her own reflection, even more than she was in the passing scenery. She could see her head bobbing in tandem with every bump in the road, listened intently to the bus axles grinding beneath her. The air smelled of starched and … Continue reading Morning Miniature 7.25.19
Travel Story: We Feed Goats in Chattanooga
Goats were not specifically why we traveled to Chattanooga (we got there by way of Christiansburg, VA, thence to Knoxville before finally arriving), but the goats proved an entertaining and comical diversion one sultry evening on Missionary Ridge; they also made splendid subjects to photograph. I’ll get to them. A theme that popped up again … Continue reading Travel Story: We Feed Goats in Chattanooga
