THERE IS MUCH VALUE IN friendships – even more so in those that are decades long. In 1986, I began working at the Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire’s fencing booth. Dubbed the privateer ship “Cardiff Rose” (after the Roger McGuinn…
Tag: moments
All that we ever really have.
That Look
THERE IS AN OCCASIONAL EXPRESSION on the faces of those with whom I converse, which makes me wish for a trap door to disappear into: “I’ve finished talking – and now it’s YOUR turn.” Ever since I was a child,…
Where Are You?
(Sermon for Parashat Vayikra [Leviticus 1:1-5:26], 4/5/25.) THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION, LIKE the entire book of Leviticus it’s taken from, asks: “How do we get close to G?d – and survive?” Leviticus’ answer is excruciatingly detailed – so much so…
We’re All Americans, Dammit
I’VE SAID THIS BEFORE, BUT it’s more important now than ever: “I pledge allegiance to the Constitution Of the United States of America And to the ideal on which it stands: One nation of individuals Indivisibly intertwined With liberty, justice,…
False Economy
SO THERE I WAS, PEEPING through the window of the Eureka, California post office, waiting for my elusive boss to enter her across-the-street cafe. The year was 1988 – a time of great personal upheaval, both good and bad. Through…
Pithyism #0001
IF YOU WANT YOUR NEW and unprecedented Big Event to be a sure-fire failure, bill it as the “First Annual.”
“Room 101 Amusement Park”
RELAXING IN PUBLIC CAN SOMETIMES bring unexpected consequences. Seated in the Walnut Creek BART station in the spring of 1980, I was reading my well-thumbed copy of 1984. So engrossed was I in Orwell’s pessimistic prose that I didn’t hear…
“You Can’t Avoid the Void!”
IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER WHERE or when I was, beyond that it was a high place from which I felt an overwhelming urge to jump. I felt neither depressed nor sad nor suicidal. But I did feel scared, though mostly…
Points of Honor, Literary and Otherwise
– STUFFING SENTENCES TO CARRYING CAPACITY. – Never starting a blog post (or sermon) with “I.” – Punctuality. – Creative segues. – Repeating verbatim whatever someone wants said to another. – That only what I actually heard appears inside quotation…
Shock Absorber
THE MORNING OF NOVEMBER 6, 2024 gave me the biggest and most horrific shock of my sixty-two years. I won’t go into why, because half the country already knows why, and those processing the same emotions could use fewer words…
A Secret of Life
WHEN YOU’RE TALKING WITH SOMEONE, ask yourself: “How can I meet this person’s needs right now?“
Confessions of a Sidewalk Astronomer
THERE ARE TWO TELESCOPES IN my living room, a third in a backpack in my bedroom closet, and a pair of astronomical binoculars on the bookcase near the front door. “Why so many?” you may ask. Easy answer: I am…