Classic…
As I settle into my seat aboard the flight from New York to Los Angeles, I feel much the same as I did almost a decade ago on the very same flight. I have to [...]
Seats for the Hungry at the Academic Table
It is easy to have faith in California. I’ve participated in some of my state’s iconic events: been to games at Chavez Ravine, watched my niece burst into tears as Goofy shook her hand a....
Treacherous Realm of Life’s Certainty
I know a man who’s a full-time professional poker player; he lives and moves and has his beginnings in that windowless, clock-less pleasure dome known as Las Vegas. It’s an easy life--earn....
An Agnostic Wondering about the Crucifix
I was raised without religion and I am all of those things that agnostics are...so far, it hasn’t caused me any bad experiences. I’ve always found the sexual ambiguity of Christ peculiar;...
Ripple Effects
Joining in a beach cleanup this week, I found soda cans, candy wrappers, a lone flip-flop. More trouble: the shore was dotten with dime-size bits of brightly colored plastic. This polka-dot effect ....
Reaching the Top
I may have thought that I had it made and was tempted to enjoy myself. But when I looked down, not only was I confronted with the dizzying prospect of the abyss out of which [...]
Black Sea mud, Iron Curtain culture at a Soviet-style spa
To the List of Things That Are Good For You, such as broccoli, treadmills, and fiber, let me add another: Crimean mud. Or so I am led to believe by the director of the health [...]
Clicking my shoes together…
My Golden State continues to lure people westward, and once they’ve experienced the effortless lifestyle, they’re hooked. Who can blame them? California inspires people to live better! ....
Blessings and lessons
One of my favorite practices is the one of offering blessing. Whether I feel loving toward a companion or not, I start with the intention that my presence in the time together will be a [...]
Dogs of Paris
As with previous trips to Paris, this time I continued to be fascinated by the dogs: in restaurants, on the streets, in stores--everywhere, and so well-behaved. Perhaps the fascination/attraction was....
Knock, knock
My neighbors are a valuable resource. One day I wanted to hang something on my wall. I had a hammer, but I had no nails. I could’ve bought some, but I only needed one. Somebody [...]
Autumn leavings
Companions, the fortunate lot of which I’m a part, don’t always get to choose the places to which we travel. Those of us whose companions are in snowy regions, in particular, find ourselv.... .
