Category Archives: sketches

On December 3rd, the Military Times reported that the “International Security Assistance Force” in Kabul announced that it may have “accidentally killed three innocent Afghan civilians,” for the sake of international security, of course. The three “individuals” hit were 12, … Continue reading →

We can look forward to no longer being where we have not even arrived. A good reason not to go there.       If the Greeks imagined the underworld river Lethe as washing us clean of all memories, we … Continue reading →

We are responsible not only for the stories we tell but also for how we retell the stories. “Truth and Fiction,” the title Goethe chose for his autobiography, is not suggesting that poets like him will take some license with … Continue reading →

According to recent estimates, each human being is host to 100 trillion microbes, forming a unique “microbiome” in and around each one of us. With American reckoning, 1 trillion is 1000 billion – so, compare my microbiome to the Milky … Continue reading →

“Joy to the world, the Lord has Come…” Many strands are often unified in old stories, frequently seeming contradictory to us, now. We think we have to choose sides or we’ll disappear. In ancient languages opposites can be viewed as … Continue reading →

Today, the Associated Press ran an article under the headline: “VP Biden, Iraqi leaders praise troops’ sacrifices.” I was trying to imagine a typical soldier, any time during this nine year war, in any situation, asked what he or she … Continue reading →

(If one is firmly married to the idea that politicians should be the paid “leaders” of our lusts, then the following sketch may offend.) If we consider our current malaise, we may feel let down by our expectations that Obama … Continue reading →

Even fear seems to thrive at a certain range of closeness. Perhaps that is why it is easier to scare children with what is behind the curtain over there than with a god behind the stars. At a distance we … Continue reading →

To languidly trace the outline of the cheek or nose, the contours of the beloved, to cup the head of a young child in our hand and feel its vibrant curve: retracing in our feeling motion what is near to us, … Continue reading →

A bee, an ant, a humming bird, approach the flower with the tenderness of a new-found love that might break contact if stormy greetings were in the offing. Delicate meets delicate and gentle mutual liveliness nurtures touch, as if there … Continue reading →

Vegetarians’ Thanksgiving: He’d brought home the turkey, where he got it was murky. She did some carving, left the family starving. He claimed he was hunting. Killing is good, like a good father would. She said he was punting in … Continue reading →

Why is the “unexamined life not worth living”?  Why is the biography of a person who was simply happy throughout life so superficial as to be without interest? When did the Nasties get so much power to rule the world … Continue reading →