Dog Ear
October 17, 2024
remember it well. Hurricane Charlie was coming right up Interstate 4 towards us. We had the house battened down. Tools and cat cage in the center hall. Windows boarded. Winds picked up and as the sun set, the hurricane rolled over us. Suddenly it was black outside, winds howling. The lights flickered and went out. In the back, I could hear trees going over. Got Prince the cat and stuffed him into his cage. The cat and wife and I hunkered in the center hall, all the doors closed. The house shuddered, wind coming up through the floorboards. At the […]
October 3, 2024
nother local bookstore closes, this time, Joybird Books, less than a mile from my house. Loved that shop. Popped in from time to time but the owner felt sorry for selling me so many books and ended up loaning them to me. Also, the store was set up as a community center, so there was room for kids to color and play, for people to sit, to enjoy themselves. My wife and I went to Zen sittings on Sunday nights there. Another victim of the failure of Americans to read, and the encroachment of Amazon into every aspect of small […]
September 26, 2024
inding out new ways to be in the five years since I retired. Back when I worked, my special delight every day was to ride my commuting bicycle across the entire floor to the coffee pots and start a brew, then ride back. God knows what would have happened if the building manager caught me. And yes, I rang the bike bell at every cubicle intersection. So now I’m retired. One of my favorite things is to ride over to Leu Gardens (the city’s botanical gardens, about a block from my house) and walk it. Then I’ll ride over to […]
September 19, 2024
‘ve always meant to say this but never got the urge until I showed up early for a dinner that everyone either skipped or came late for. And here it is. My quote: The weight of time is far less that the weight of a thin paperback book. This might not make much sense unless you’ve ever decided to go somewhere and had nothing to do for forty-five minutes or so. And for some reason, when you left your house, you picked up the paperback you were reading, yet, the one that was just getting interesting. You gauged it in […]
September 13, 2024
isclaimer – I have not watched this show. I’ve seen the ads on the mindless-drone TV at the dealership and rolled my eyes. Okay, this is some sort of program where they have contestants from everyday people (i.e. stupid) compete in an unlikely and over-engineered obstacle course. But that’s not what I’m deconstructing here – I’m looking at the name they’ve given this wasteland show. American Ninja Warrior. So, first up. “American”. What has this got to do with anything? Is there a Polish Ninja Warrior game I need to know about? Or is this a way to stick a […]
August 29, 2024
eird little story for your blogging pleasure. Of course, I love to read (no shit, right?) And since I just had a week’s vacation, I’ve been plowing through books. My review stack is about six deep right now. Funniest thing, though. I’ve been watching James Garner in The Rockford Files. Great show that echos the old Private Eye Noir of the past. I’ve never really watched it but lived in the time (1974) and the place (LA) so it’s all there for me. Curious about the main star, I picked up a book, The Garner Files, Garner’s autobiography. Enjoyed it. […]
August 22, 2024
ou know, I think the thing about drunks and drug addicts is when you see them in their ragged states, hanging on at the margins of society. The sorrow from this comes from thinking about the lost potential – here was a person who fell through the cracks, who might have gone on to create great art, great items, great friendship and great loves, who, because of a weakness for drink or drugs, lost this chance. I think this every day while in the downtown coffee shop and watching the baristas take pity on the homeless who wander in, giving […]
August 8, 2024
n the early 70s, a singer named Dobie Gray released a song, Drift Away, that was a big hit. I remember being into it, playing the 45 over and over. In a nutshell, it’s a song that notes the way music can sooth us in our troubled world. You can say that it’s a noble ideal to hold, something that can bring comfort to us all. [Verse 1] Day after day I’m more confused Yet I look for the light through the pouring rain You know that’s a game that I hate to lose And I’m feelin’ the strain […]
August 1, 2024
o I’m sitting in the Banner Elk cafe, having my brew at 4200 feet. Interesting. My home cafe in Florida (Framework, on 17-92) is my place. The black joe is strong (need water as a chaser) and the grinding in the back makes me sneeze sometimes, but that’s okay. It’s a younger clientele, a bunch of middle-twenties/early-thirties people, most of them using the cafe as an office (sitting at laptops, a cold cup of coffee untouced at their side). There is always some homeless guy there (they change out every two weeks or so) but they generally behave and a […]
July 25, 2024
nteresting day on the road today. Coming home from breakfast with a friend, tooling along in the right lane of a two lane exit, not quite there yet. In my rear view, I spot a BMW FUV coming up hard behind me, maybe 90 to my 75. Of course, while he’s got all the room in the world, he changes lanes at the last second, clipping past my rear quarter for no better reason that it gives him a thrill to pass like a race car driver. Cute, except that we were entering a hard right off ramp going to […]