Seeing these was hard. Doing this was harder.
Yearly Archives: 2018
Poodle et al.
Tue, 19 Jun 2018, 11:53 AM (-06:00)
Funny what you find when you have to clean everything out of a room. Today I found a pile of hand-written papers, among them a half-ripped sheet that had “Fall 2009” in the lower right corner and some untitled notes scribbled in the middle. There are two with check-marks, indicating that they made it into […]
Notes from Long Ago
Mon, 18 Jun 2018, 08:40 PM (-06:00)
There is a Houston phone number on the paper. 703 area code. Old school, not 281. And there are some scribbled notes on the paper, too. At first they bring back nothing. But then then do. Notes from Occupy Austin. Old school. Show up before the crowd Parking meter, dreadlocks and drums Spark hands and mic […]
We Won
Sun, 17 Jun 2018, 01:15 PM (-06:00)
There was a brief, sharp shout. I paid no mind and looked down the street to the left and then the right and began to roll into the intersection. Then I heard it again only louder. And a woman in black came dashing out of a house shouting. “We won!” she yelled as she ran. Her […]
What the Doctor Said
Fri, 15 Jun 2018, 10:14 AM (-06:00)
It was several years ago. He was in the doctor’s office for major back pain he was having every time his running mileage got up to 12 miles. He had just said something to the doctor. He can’t remember what it was. But there are artifacts from the encounter, as he did scribble a note […]
Casting a Wide Net
Tue, 12 Jun 2018, 01:38 PM (-06:00)
The interview panel sat at a table several feet in front of the table where I was sitting. They were asking getting-to-know-you questions. “Why do you want to teach in this district?” In hindsight, perhaps the kind of answer they we’re looking for was an indication of some particular detail about the community or the school […]
Solving An Equation
Tue, 12 Jun 2018, 07:53 AM (-06:00)
1. The Question “Take a look at the paper in front of you,” they said. I looked down and got my pencil out of my pocket. (In retrospect, I wonder if any of them noticed that instinctive reach for the pencil. There were generations of us raised with pencils as necessary appendages to our brains, […]
Magical Backyard Light
Mon, 28 May 2018, 09:21 AM (-06:00)
It’s going to be 100 degrees soon. I need to go out for that jog before the heat of this day arrives in earnest. But that can wait just a moment longer… The light in the backyard is magical. The flowers of spring are still enjoying the (relative) cool of morning, but even that will soon […]
Lizards
Sun, 27 May 2018, 10:09 PM (-06:00)
It was hot, because summer is now upon us. But there was a slight breeze, and it felt good sitting in the shade. Bill was on the bench. I was in a nearby chair. We were discussing something, I can’t remember what, because I wasn’t doing a very good job listening. He could tell I […]
Eastern Screech Owl
Fri, 25 May 2018, 07:48 PM (-06:00)
The sun was beginning to go down behind the trees across the street. Miss Izzy was sprawled out on a slab of limestone in the shade of the Flame Acanthus. I was sitting on the bench nearby marveling how it can be that the heat can feel so good when you’re in the shade … […]