I wandered into an old book store. Walking towards the back I saw a handwritten sign pointing to “The Red Chair Room.” Who could pass up something like that? Not me. But as is often the case the reality differed from the promise. It wasn’t a room. It was more of a nook, but why quibble? After all there was a red chair and for that most anything can be forgiven.
For a while now books have pushed hard against the boundaries of the house, threatening to burst through the walls in search of more space. It’s not the first time I’ve been through this. Most of my life has been crowded with books, although for a brief period I enthusiastically ran in the other direction.
About ten years ago I was possessed with a newfound desire to adopt a minimalistic lifestyle and living space. I craved air and light. I required clean lines and (more…)
Did you ever notice when you reach a certain age it’s much more common for a name to drop off your holiday card list rather than make its way onto it? I find my list shrinks every year, if only by tiny increments. It’s a curious thing. There was a time everyone, and I mean everyone, who occupied space in my life at that moment received a card. I guess simply knowing that many people was (more…)
We breathe life into buildings so they can serve us. They rise among a flurry of spellbinding expectations, speculations of glory. Their unveilings are accompanied with excessive self-congratulatory celebration by their creators. Speeches are given, ribbons cut. For a brief, glorious period new buildings are treated reverently and tenderly, like a baby. We “oooo” and “ahhh”, say all the right things, and fawn with appreciation. Yet the tides (more…)
One innocuous morning you are happily singing along with your favorite Jimmy Buffet tune when it hits you. You’re living the life of a stranger. You’re not a pirate at 40; you’re not even a pirate. You’re an accountant or lawyer or sanitation worker or cop. Far worse, you are at the mercy of everything swirling around you, everything imposed on you by those who are not you. It’s a jarring and life-altering moment, one demanding contemplation and correction.
You scuttle off disoriented to your den, that private retreat where poisons purge from your body, where your spirit (more…)
Among the items my aunt left to the family when she died in 1982 was a small, leather bound ringed notebook simply titled “Family Data”. Over the years she researched and (more…)
My name is Liberty and thanks to a bit of serendipity I am now a celebrity and, more importantly, here to tell you about it. Along with a spotlight hogging gobbler named Peace I was “pardoned” by President Obama yesterday. This means neither one of us will become the centerpiece of some family’s Thanksgiving meal. Not only that we’re going on a whirlwind publicity tour which culminates in (more…)
Lately I’ve taken to listening to my iPod as I lay in bed meandering towards sleep. Some folks prefer quiet, but it doesn’t matter much to me. I’ve never been bothered by noise and given the choice I’ll take music over a random police siren every time.
When I was younger I would leave the radio on when I went to bed. The radio, even those stations you firmly believed in, offered no guarantees. They might play a stinker. As a result a lot of bad songs became forever embedded in my subconscious and remain there today teasing me like (more…)
Trask Avenue 