NICE GOING
Every now and then I think you might like to hear something from me nice and easy. But there’s just one thing, you see — I never, ever do anything nice and easy. I always do it nice and rough…
THE TROUBLE WITH REALITY
Recently, I read a review of an exhibition currently on at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The show is called, “Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color.” It places pieces from their extensive collection of ancient Greek and Roman…
PROMISE THE MOON
Earlier this week, Travis and I were grumbling about something annoying, and he said, “If we can put a man on the Moon, why can’t we _________?” The phrase struck me as one I’ve been hearing my entire life and…
WHOLE AGAINST THE SKY
We just watched a beautiful documentary series on HBO, The Last Movie Stars, about the life, careers, and marriage of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman. I don’t know exactly why we were drawn to it. It’s not like I'm some…
FULL OF HOLES
When we describe something as “full of holes,” that means it seems unsound. Like an argument that can’t stand up to logic. Or a shaky alibi that falls apart under scrutiny. Or a half-baked plan that fails to address how…
HONEY HONEY
I read a sweet news item this week about an English village, Long Newnton, in Gloucestershire. They had a problem with speeding traffic. According to digital signs they’d installed which recorded and alerted speeders, more than 90% of motorists were…
LIVING SITUATION
Recently, I was introduced to the idea that there's a difference between a problem and a situation. Problems have solutions. Situations are simply the way things are. We can fix problems, try to solve them. But while we can like…
p’s and q’s
You know how it is when you get a word or phrase spinning around in your head, and pretty soon every conversation you’re in seems to contain an echo of it, and then it starts popping up in novels and…
ALL OTTER THINGS BEING EQUAL
A few weeks ago I listened to a podcast about sea otters in the Pacific Northwest. Otters are one of my spirit animals, so I was emotionally invested from the start. And this story took me for a spin, let…
THE BEAT GOES ON
Our back yard is carpeted with morning glory sprouts. They’re coming out of every space between the pavers, every pot, every patch of dirt. Also in random clumps of debris and piles of leaves that have accumulated in the corners…