Buck Naked The human form has inspired many artists and writers over the millennia, and yet, humans are the only species that have found it necessary to work hard to drape that form with coverings and clothing. From our perusal of the pages of National Geographic when we were young and rooting around in the basement, we learned that primitive man seemed less inclined to cover the human form as much as we in civilized…
Fiction or Not I have now written 52 pages of the new book I am writing that is somewhat outside my normal comfort zone. The book is a compilation and expansion on a series of stories about the peacetime high-jinx of a group of young military officers who share a house on Virginia Beach in the early 1960’s. That 52 pages represents the first draft of the Prologue and first three chapters. I keep saying…
Raptors I Have Known The other day, Kim and I were coming home from an afternoon errand and, after stopping to pick up the mail, we were driving through our entry pillars when Kim shouted at me to look. I was somewhat taken aback and didn’t know what she was pointing to at to my left. Then I saw it. On the left stucco pillar there was a small red-tailed hawk. It was just sitting…
Dead Presidents Tomorrow is President’s Day. That makes this President’s Week when many school have their winter holiday. My own grandkids are up at my house in Ithaca enjoying the snow during their week off. George Washington was born on February 11th, and conveniently, the only other United States president whose birthday we choose to deem worthy of celebration is Abraham Lincoln, who was north on February 12th. For many years we celebrated each of…
Commander Softpants Today Kim handed me a letter that was addressed to me and she had glanced at the addressee. She asked me who Commander Softpants was. I tried to think of something witty to tell her, but then I decided that the actual truthful story was better than anything I could make up. So, I decided to turn it into a story. I mean, why waste a perfectly good title and an interesting story…
What the Succulent? Today we are at the end of January, which means that in a few days I will have completed a full year of California residency, spending the vast majority of my days on this hilltop, with clear views to the ocean and mountains alike. As I sit in the living room I see verdant gardens to my left and dry hillside chaparral to my right. The sun is streaming in and we…
Necessita Casita We live on 2.5 acres of boulder-strewn hillside. We are on top of the hill, perfectly situated for views in all directions and the boulders create a lovely landscape to create nice spaces in various area of the lot, The Patio is nestled amongst boulders. The hot tub is perfectly sited in between and shielded for privacy by several large boulders. The newer Cecil Garden is framed by the boulders which form the…
Drafting The word draft is one of those English words with not only multiple meanings, but the word takes the form of a verb, an adverb, an adjective and a whole array of nouns all at once . You can draft a draft of a proposal to draft a drafting specialist by sending him a draft as a down payment to help correct flaws of a drafty room before he or she gets conscripted in…
The Elves of Nature This Monday morning I am sitting in my office wondering about how to begin my week. It is another clear-sky morning here in San Diego with an anticipated high of 71 degrees. I see my weather app predicts twelve more days of sun, 70ish weather with 0% chance of rain. So, there is nothing to worry about weather-wise and I can get no guidance from the forecast since I am free…
Lining Up for Slaughter Yesterday I received a message from my healthcare provider, UCSD Health, explaining to me the prioritization queuing for vaccinations. It basically explained where I sit in the line formed for receiving the Coronavirus vaccination. It didn’t give me a timeframe, but said that the system was still working on the first cohort of first responder and assisted living resident vaccinations and when done with that would move on to 75+ and…