They sat at their desks, some of them socially distanced some not, because we have more in-person students than two-person desks. So some sat shoulder to shoulder. Others of course, were sitting at desks at home, or kitchen tables, or on beds in their rooms … on Zoom. I handed out the bubble sheets and […]
Yearly Archives: 2020
What Do the Lizards Think
Sun, 13 Sep 2020, 04:49 PM (-06:00)
There are lizards in the Turk’s Cap. Geckos scurry in the dry leaves and sticks on the ground below them, chirping in the dark of the night. Spiny Lizards climb the trunk of the Ash tree behind them, blending in with the bark so that you cannot see them unless they move. And Anole’s move […]
Papershell Pecans
Sun, 13 Sep 2020, 04:35 PM (-06:00)
Pete has been here many years. Thirty or more, according to the story he told about scavenging rocks from the creek when they first moved here. The neighborhood would have been young then: the houses, most of the trees. His two Pecan trees would have been young then. Pecan trees that he has cared for […]
The Jeeps and the Pushers
Sat, 1 Aug 2020, 11:08 AM (-06:00)
1. A Jeep Out of Gas When the light turned green, the geezer found himself behind a Jeep SUV that had run out of gas. A twenty-something driver was pushing and steering, trying to get his vehicle thru the intersection. The geezer changed lanes and drove around and then pulled into the next driveway. He […]
Wrens are not Squirrels
Mon, 27 Jul 2020, 12:05 PM (-06:00)
A Carolina Wren sang from the upper branches of the Japanese Persimmon. The song was more warble-y than usual, and I went to the back door to listen and watch, slowly closing the patio door since the heat of the day had arrived. Another Wren in the pond caught my attention. It was splashing in the […]
Wrensong and Rainfall
Sun, 26 Jul 2020, 08:12 AM (-06:00)
“Matamoros is getting it,” Trudy said. Like her mother, she loves watching weather radar. She held out her phone. A bright red band was smeared across the map. It came in from the Gulf and passed inland right over the spot where the map showed Matamoros to be. “Corpus is getting it.” There was another […]
Essential Work
Fri, 24 Jul 2020, 05:34 PM (-06:00)
1. Ron We worked in a big room filled with desks and tables. One wall was made out of glass and looked out onto a hallway. This used to be the mainframe room, the 60s era computing technology that got the astronauts to the moon. Our computers were Sun workstations that sat on the tables. […]
I Do
Fri, 24 Jul 2020, 02:39 PM (-06:00)
“I like your writing, except…” “Except what?” “Except that you write so much in the first person. It’s all me, me, me, I, I, I.” “I’m telling stories.” “Stories in which you seem to always have a cameo if not prominent role.” “You’re right. I’m sorry. I do.”
Quite Meta and Very Meta
Fri, 24 Jul 2020, 01:13 PM (-06:00)
1. Tangential Background Years ago, the University of Illinois had a 5-year joint liberal arts/engineering undergraduate program. I was curious. Eventually (some time during my freshman year), and in spite of the Engineering Dean’s pronouncement that “that program is meant for civil engineers who want to build bridges in South America,” I enrolled. What degrees […]