Beethoven and the Purity of Will
March 20, 2026“What a humiliation when one stood beside me and heard a flute in the distance and I heard nothing, or…
Raymond Carver Remembered
March 9, 2026For those who weren’t writing back in the nineteen eighties, it’s hard to imagine what a broad shadow Raymond Carver…
The Persistence of Doors
March 5, 2026I was four years old, and we lived on the top floor of a fisherman’s house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.…
The Enigmas
April 18, 2025You have asked me what the lobster weaves between its golden claws,and I respond to you: The sea knows.You say…
Joseph Campbell on Schopenhauer, Will, and Life’s Composition
March 8, 2025In his splendid essay called "On an Apparent Intention in the Fate of the Individual," Schopenhauer points out that when…
Ten Reasons Why We Should Pay Attention to Local Politics
October 23, 2024For me, the machinations of the machine we call “American politics” seemed like nothing so much as an overrated reality…
The Cutoff Point
April 13, 2024Chester charged through the aisle and slammed into the bodies at the door. He ripped the first away and threw…Reflections on Life and Death
December 19, 2023LIFE AND DEATH Nature relaxes by herself in a magical land of her own. A human lays with her in…
Compass Check
November 5, 2023My brother and I grew up in a military family. We knew the names of the battles depicted in Band…
Big Mountain
July 17, 2023"The Unseen Beast" She sits atop a tree that lives on The Mountain, watching for anything that might sound good…
The Pool
May 26, 2023“Those of you who are mine, drop. You know who you are. Flutter-kicks, let’s go.” There is no hesitation; the…
Fire and Wind
May 22, 2023Once I was his indentured servant, not his beloved son; he used to bark his demands like a drill sergeant…
