This morningThe geese called me, wake!to look at the palest pinksand blues of grey dawn This morningwispy steam risingmy teacup counsels, patiencenow is the waiting This morningLily, the cat, sleepson work’s demanding laptopconveniently
Author Archives: Will
Persistence
Have you cracked a black walnut? Or, perhaps more precisely, have you tried to crack a black walnut? I found this half of a walnut shell on my walk this morning. The squirrel who enjoyed the nutmeat at the heart chewed through against the grain, avoiding what little help the seam between the shell halves gives. His […]
Any Morning
Just lying on the couch and being happy. Only humming a little, the quiet sound in the head. Trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment, it has so much to do in the world. People who might judge are mostly asleep; they can’t monitor you all the time, and sometimes they forget. When dawn flows […]
Neighborhood Sports
I’ve been enamored of the Kingston Stockade since reading Dennis Crowley’s announcement of the team, but as time goes on, and as my nostalgia becomes more of an affliction, I wonder why, other than insufficient hours in the day, there aren’t teams in all of the river towns along the Hudson. It seems there should […]
National Reputation, Local Presence?
Yesterday my son and I went to Vassar College to watch the women’s soccer match between Vassar and New Paltz. No. 1 Daughter is attending New Paltz, though not playing soccer, so we were rooting for the visitors. This was the first collegiate sporting event I’ve attended since fencing for Hampden-Sydney, unless tailgating at The […]
Janitors
A species of ant in my kitchen likes kimchi-fried rice. By Tuesday morning they’d found Monday’s unwashed dishes. A bucket brigade from the colony marched between the caulk and the window frame, down the counter, around the sink, through the pile of dishes, to their picnic. I watched throughout the week; their labor was so […]
Feed Me, Seymour
Polls out recently show Andrew Cuomo ahead among likely voters in the Democratic primary election in New York, and the other day the various unions declared their support for him, so now of course the news media are only interested in the horse racing aspects of this election. Meanwhile the argument being made for voting […]
Because I Said So
There is, yet again, a sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. I have not followed all the details, being somewhat unconcerned with Church politics and feeling no need to pretend that priests are saints whose every word is that of God. But I’ve learned of the abuse from those who refer to Holy […]
Don’t Fence Me In
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love Jeff Sharlet had some trouble coming back from a trip to Canada because he took a picture. Remember when America was great and you could cross the border willy-nilly, both North and South? What do you tell your kids about borders? Crossing into Canada […]
Yes, I like The Shire
In his New York Times column last Sunday, Ross Douthat remarked The teenage nerd enters conservatism through either Atlas Shrugged or Lord of the Rings, and between Tolkienists like myself and the Randians a great gulf is often fixed. There someone goes mentioning Atlas Shrugged again as if it were pervasive. Haven’t read it. Did […]
Private Gain at the Public Expense
We should be on the Appalachian Trail today, but the threat of thunderstorms persuaded me that this week was not the time for a first backpacking trip with the No. 1 and No. 2 Sons. So of course it’s been wet without any actual lightning. NWS, please indicate a 60% probability of no lightning instead […]
Feedback
I don’t recall many of my college successes with great clarity, but I do recall my few failures. Two in particular stand out: both D’s on short papers because “the assignment was not addressed.” One was for a course on art in New York City, where we were to pick a work that moved us, […]
On This Day, 18 Years Ago
The world changed: I became a father.
He can call me Flower if he wants to
Each day another wonder sprouts. Yesterday it was daffodils. Today it’s forsythia, magnolia, cherry blossoms, and dandelion.
To Do List
Home Economics is not “Consumer Sciences”
Certainly Meaning Matters
Spectator sports are relaxing because I know I can’t affect the outcome.
FUD
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt is not just a marketing scheme to sell computer software, but a tactic applicable generally.
Proud to be an American, Where What?
I overhead part of an odd conversation between No. 1 Son and No. 2 Son that came while they were preparing for bed after we’d watched The Gamers: Humans & Households. No. 2 Son: Which would you rather be: American or Canadian? No. 1 Son: Canadian. No. 2 Son: Me too. Ah, the corrupting influence […]
Intrusion
There are times when I get myself in trouble because I minimize the details, and see only the Big Picture. One of those days was when one of our clients complained that his customers were complaining that his site didn’t work. He couldn’t figure out why and asked for help. Turned out that an advertisement […]
Now
The iPhone crouches at the corner of my chair, well within reach. The iMac sits on the altar in the living room, but I can worship from afar by picking up the iPhone. The god of distractions is generous this way: it does not care what use you have for it, only what use it […]