Competition. . .

—From CB— One of our special skills as humans is comparison. Where are we in the particular pecking order we choose to peck in? This may be a survival urge fomented by the competitive nature of our culture and economy: as a kid I played second base on our church...

My Journey. . .

—From EF— I have a specific place of the heart in France, Bretagne, and the connection is deep and strange. Decades ago I visited the stones at Carnac; not the circle pattern made famous by Stonehenge—these are smaller rough stones laid in parallel lines, many...

Alone, with Cats

—From CB— Very early, I drove Elizabeth to the bus stop. Much easier to do the 7-mile trip to the bus than the 2-hour drive to SFO. She’ll be gone for eight days, visiting her special stones in France, while I’m surviving here. It’s always strange. Long ago we...

A Different Reunion…

  —From EF—          My first solo trip to Europe was 1998, to visit our daughter Johanna. She had just relocated to Italy, having had time to compare her life-experience during her college year in Firenze and what she was discovering back home after graduation....

Forgiveness. . .

—From CB— Recently, there was a long debate in a writers’ group on Facebook about “forgiveness.” One contingent felt that forgiveness wasn’t possible unless the sinner acknowledged his sin. Others felt—and I tended to agree—that forgiveness was more a clearing-away of...

My Earth Is Changing. . .

—From EF— When Conrad and I came to California in 1963, the first time I put my bare feet on the ground I knew, like an electric shock up my spine, “This is my home.” We were there for three years, and then it took thirty-three more to come back—to come...

Tapdancer. . .

—From CB— What’s the point? I’ve asked myself that all my life and never come up with an answer—except maybe “That’s what I do.” Right now, we’re preparing TAPDANCER for publication. No deadline: the world isn’t waiting with bated breath. It’s gone through the usual...

The Cottage. . .

—From EF— A friend did a Facebook post on his river cabin, complete with a photo of his wood-burning kitchen stove. It catapulted me into an intense memory journey to a Michigan cottage I knew from early childhood, and I want to share it. It hasn’t existed for a...

Tribe. . .

—From CB— In my periodic attempts to comprehend the human race, I start with the recognized belief that humans evolved in interdependent small groups. These groups formed tribes, and that made good survival sense. You couldn’t go out to the mammoth store and buy a...

Respect. . .

—From EF— Our house is near a sharp bend in our country road, and several times a year somebody driving with more speed than sense enlivens the night with a crash. Mailboxes, tree, utility pole, whatever, it’s a screech and a thump and the local people grab...