"I just smiled at a potted plant, thinking it was you”. She thought she saw me at her table when I was having a long distance phone call with my Mom. This was when her mind was beginning to go a bit wild. I did not know it then but it was a sign of things to … Continue reading Smiling at a Potted Plant
Writing
Red Sun in Morning
I type in the dark, fingers missing keys, as my daughter sleeps in a shadowy futon couch bed in the corner of my study; a grown woman planning her big move to the west coast of the United States. Today she turns 21. The first fall without my Mom. She has passed away. Passe Compose. … Continue reading Red Sun in Morning
Mama – Last Word
I made one more trip to see mom before she died. I went straight down to see her and was dismayed to see how lifeless she was. She had not been sitting up for a few days, and she had stopped eating. I knew that, and I knew what was happening, and I knew why … Continue reading Mama – Last Word
Mama
My mom’s dying is so gradual that I feel like I am watching a tree return to the earth. She hardly moves now, and Parkinson’s is stealing her voice and her expressions, just as she feared. But if I sit beside her and look into her eyes I know what she is thinking. Her eyes … Continue reading Mama
Retirement Plans for an Angry Old Hipster
I have too many things and I spend quite a bit of time talking to banks, lawyers and insurance people. A bunch of people count on me to get things done and be there to hold up the world. I treasure sleep over almost any other pleasure, I eat sensibly all the time, I might … Continue reading Retirement Plans for an Angry Old Hipster
Mom and the Old Bitch Above
There was a time in my youth when I wished my Mom was dead. As soon as I wished it I realized that it was a terrible solution. I knew that my Mom drove me crazy in various ways but it was certainly not fair to request her death in order to set me free … Continue reading Mom and the Old Bitch Above
Tantramar News
Up until last spring I wrote for The Times and Transcript doing local news and features for the daily paper published out of Moncton. It was a great gig and I enjoyed it. The job began more than 10 years ago when I made a 'cold call' to the paper's news editor saying that I … Continue reading Tantramar News
Chaos and Order – Life and Music
I drove to Dorchester the other weekend to go to a village organized garage sale extravaganza. I found a few things but one of the most wonderful things was the music I found. I was looking through a box of things and found some hand labeled CD’s and cassette tapes. What drew me to the … Continue reading Chaos and Order – Life and Music
Magical thinking, magical writing
My Mom and I were talking about memory and writing; recollection. She said it is too bad she cannot write down all the things that she is thinking and remembering, recollecting and sorting. And and I said, does it matter, after all? Do we need to record the details of our lives, does it matter? … Continue reading Magical thinking, magical writing
Stay Calm, Be Brave and wait for the Signs
I have been spending much of my time thinking and writing in my wonderful philosophy class that I am taking long distance from Memorial University in Newfoundland. Prof Craig Cramm offers a gem of a course for students looking for an elective, and the class has more engineering students than philosophy students. This is my last class … Continue reading Stay Calm, Be Brave and wait for the Signs
Notes from a Sinking Isthmus 