The Day We Flew a Kite, Read Books, Hid Under the Lilacs…
I spent the day with my oldest niece. We flew the butterfly kite she got for Easter. Both of us kept breaking into the tune from Mary Poppins, “Let’s go … Continue reading
The Opportunity of Everyone
For the time being, by reflecting on what exactly the culture of human cooperation is, a culture that has, at its foundation, the idea that the other person has much … Continue reading
Finding Your Field
Life is whatever we conceive it to be. For the farmer who considers his field to be everything, the field is an empire. For a Caesar whose empire is never … Continue reading
How To Be Clever
The man who writes very little always has the advantage over the one who writes a lot, since his every phrase is carefully constructed; just as the person who stays … Continue reading
This Seeing of the World
But he went on to reflect that he had done very wisely to pull up stakes and come abroad; this seeing of the world was a very interesting thing. He … Continue reading
Out with the Girls
I feel that I am growing old, I feel lonely and in need of the support of old friends, in which (in my case) rather small battalion I certainly count … Continue reading
Thinking About Tomorrow…
People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn’t believe in that. Tomorrow wasn’t ready for them. It didn’t even know they were there. –Cormac McCarthy. The Road. (This quotation … Continue reading
The Blank Page
There are, I hazard, saints of art who have simply waited mutely all their lives rather than profane the purity of a single page with anything less than what is … Continue reading
Aptalım
When a mistake of the heart is revealed as folly, we think of ourselves as fools, and ask our near-and-dear why they failed to save us from ourselves. But that … Continue reading
To Be Human
The Good Neighbor looks beyond those external accidents, and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human, and therefore brothers. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love.
Meh. I don’t know, what do you want to do?
I thought with melancholy how an author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart’s blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has … Continue reading
The Notebook, Journaling, and the Good Habit of Scrawling
I have been searching my pockets for my mislaid notebook. This notebook of mine contains some remarkable entries: Underlined! My sickness is underlining important things; there is almost nothing but … Continue reading
When It Begins
I always loved twilight: it was the only time I had the feeling that something important could happen. All things were more beautiful bathed in twilight, all streets, all squares, … Continue reading
Why My Nieces Get Books for Christmas (And My Eerie Paul Street Boys Coincidence)
The influence of early books is profound. So much of the future lies on the shelves… -Graham Greene. A Sort of Life. On my last trip to Europe, one of … Continue reading
Booklove
Lost in my dreams, I somehow cross at the traffic signals, never bumping into street lamps or people, yet moving onward, exuding fumes of beer and grime, yet smiling, because … Continue reading
The Top Ten Search Terms: Seek and Ye Shall Find
Last year, I posted the most frequent search terms that led people to my blog. It used to seem quite random–for example, “Chuck Norris Drowns a guy in Rice” led … Continue reading
Charge!
The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed. Never forget: … Continue reading
Without a Hitch
You only get married for the first time once. –Zlata’s Diary. Zlata Filipovic
Places I’ve Gone on Account of a Book
I read a book one day and my whole life was changed…Where were the kindred spirits with whom I could talk? Where was the country in which I’d find the … Continue reading
Tell Me.
There was a storytelling code of solidarity—you did not sabotage someone else’s narration if it was satisfying to the audience, or you could expect one of your stories to be … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 