Today, I want to both wish myself a happy birthday and thank many of you for your kind wishes. Like the kid’s game of hopscotch–that dates back to many centuries before the current era in India–I have tapped a toe into all eight of the decade-squares in the French La Marelle version of the game, … [read more]
The Man in the Mirror
V&A Rotunda Chandelier-Dale Chihuly-Missouri Botanical Garden One of my favorite poets, Joni Mitchell said, “We all come and go unknown / each so deep and superficial / between the forceps and the stone.” Can I know another, or am I caught in a loop, seeing only my projections of myself, working out my karma as … [read more]
That
in chilly darkness still hours before dawn midway through Rohatsu week my old teacher walks kentan with decades of determination faith and doubt tucked inside his okesa. Nothing happens but for this.
These old boots
As most did, I learned to walk at a young age. I never looked back. I’ve always loved walking. “No, you guys go on ahead. I’ll walk.” To be sure, I took this for granted. Some whom I love have lost this ability to walk altogether. The first piece of creative writing I ever did … [read more]
The Day the Music Died
The Day the Music Died I was ten. November 22, 1963 Time stopped in the far west at 10:30 am and then again at 11:00 that morning. Though we had only two television channels in our small desert town, the nuns wheeled in sets and tuned in to Cronkite and Huntley and Brinkley and … [read more]
Moving quickly to the end
Moving quickly to the end Kuàzi in Chinese. Hashi in Japanese. We say chopsticks. I love following the words, characters and meanings. Somewhere in this 4,000 year eating utensil history, the characters suggested “quick” and “bamboo”. No Zhongwen scholar, I’ll leave that to others. I like to eat slowly, but I still call my kuàzi … [read more]
