Oswego
Entries 485
Page 8 of 20
Down Memory Lane with silly hit songs from the 50s and 60s in Daydreaming on the Porch
This is one of those entries where I take myself back in a time machine to the years 1958-1963. That was a momentous time in my young life, as it was during this period in 1961 that my family mo...
It’s been two years almost to the day since my mother departed this life, relieved at last of the mind-robbing illness of dementia. As I reflect on those last weeks she was with us in December ...
What do old family snapshots really reveal? in Daydreaming on the Porch
Moving has meant weeks and months of de-cluttering and emptying closets full of every kind of object and bits and pieces of the past, stuffed in untidy and perilous heaps such that for years I co...
Pies are the best in Daydreaming on the Porch
In these dark times of bad news and fears for the future of democracy and humanity, it’s time once again to dwell on something that makes me happy. And it’s a very simple thing that I’m sure b...
The Internet versus “real life”? in Daydreaming on the Porch
I often think about all the reading, learning, entertainment, and social awakening the Internet has brought me, this past year particularly with the pandemic, but every other year, too. The Inter...
Peace and turmoil in Daydreaming on the Porch
It was a gorgeous winter day at the nature preserve yesterday. One of those days when the sun sparkles, the air is crisp and cold, and the colors of the trees and woods are a mixture of fall and ...
A sofa, a bed, chairs, and bookcases in Daydreaming on the Porch
The day finally arrived yesterday for moving furniture to my tiny new apartment. It all went well. The movers were great. I forgot how strong people can be after doing that heavy lifting for a...
This afternoon I’m sitting on the porch looking out over the garden that before long I’ll see no more. The move to smaller place is coming up fast. I’ve stalled as long as I can. I have a smal...
Coca-Cola: memories of good times in a more innocent age in Daydreaming on the Porch
I have recently re-discovered the joys of Coke — Coca-Cola, that is. What is it about this perfectly carbonated, sugery or diet drink, that elicits so many profound memories and associations? F...
This past Tuesday, just a few days after Christmas, I ventured out to Magnolia Gardens to escape the noise and commotion from the pressure washing of our house. It would do me good, as I’ve had ...
The Gift of Children (Revisited) in Daydreaming on the Porch
This Christmas season has been especially difficult for me. I lost my mother two years ago after taking care of her for ten years when she had dementia. Last Christmas was, as expected, strang...
The power of place in sanctuaries of the spirit in Daydreaming on the Porch
Let there be intervals when we shall do nothing, think nothing, plan nothing, but just lay ourselves on the green lap of nature and “rest awhile. From Streams in the Desert Two days ago. The aft...
Every evening and late into the following morning, I sit on the long and spacious sofa in the den of our family home in the historic district of town — wistful, sad, hopeful — knowing this beauti...
How has aging come to this? in Daydreaming on the Porch
This past Thursday, a funeral was held for the grandmother of a friend’s son-in-law. Although I didn’t know her, I was affected by her passing for a number of reasons, all having to do with how ...
My Mayberry existence — once upon a time in Daydreaming on the Porch
Years ago I lived in a small college town in near a large city, but not too close. It felt like it was out a ways from everything. If it hadn’t been a college town, I would have thought I really ...
Ten ways to confront the climate crisis without losing hope in Daydreaming on the Porch
The world as we knew it is coming to an end, and it’s up to us how it ends and what comes after. It’s the end of the age of fossil fuel, but if the fossil-fuel corporations have their way the end...
Why a movie made such a huge impact on my life in Daydreaming on the Porch
An extraordinary movie, “Breaking Away,” once reached for my soul and lifted it higher and higher in a year where I had descended to the lowest point in my life months earlier trying to escape th...
Our aging masks in Daydreaming on the Porch
This art work ages as you pass by. Amazing! I fall somewhere in the last quarter of this spectrum. But it’s what’s behind these shifting masks that’s the key to everything. It’s a pity most peo...
Revisiting Black Creek in Daydreaming on the Porch
I am looking now at a photograph on the wall just above the scene of a creek in northwest Oregon. It is of another special place, across the country deep in the piney woods of southern Mississipp...
What’s going to happen to local news in small towns and cities? in Daydreaming on the Porch
Although I moved away from my first career, journalism, almost exactly 30 years ago, I still maintain an avid interest in the present and future well-being of this institution that is so vital to...
This explains it all in Daydreaming on the Porch
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ...
Slice of life in Daydreaming on the Porch
You know I was once your age, too. We’re all messed up in some way. Father to teenage son in a French short film Browsing in the bargain books section of Barnes & Noble recently, I couldn’t...
Autumn in coastal South Carolina in Daydreaming on the Porch
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with...
Ultimate night owl in Daydreaming on the Porch
Ah, it has come to me. This is what I will write about: the middle of the night. What shall I call it? The still of the early morining hours? The reverential hush of deepest eventide? It has be...
What was life like before the Internet? in Daydreaming on the Porch
Not long ago I was asked a curious question by two very intelligent and keenly perceptive recent college graduates. It was this: “What was life like before the Internet?” Well, of course I cou...
