This past Sunday I went to a party for a dear friend who is a former colleague from my teaching days. The occasion was her 95th birthday. It was a wonderful time and a heartwarming experience. She continues to be an inspiration for all who know her. For me she has been a lodestar since…

How many times have you heard winning politicians rationalize their post-election actions by saying that elections have consequences? At the same time the single vote of each of us has consequences and makes us individually responsible for what ensues from an election. Yet how many times have you cast a vote too quickly or too…

It’s a rainy day in our little mountains and in our nation. The rain here will soon pass and give way to warm sunny days, but I’m not so sure about the rest of the country. Today’s ouster of Liz Cheney from leadership by the Republican right threatens dark days ahead for our constitutional government….

Recently the political news has been mostly about Liz Cheney, U.S. Representative for Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Apparently, she is about to be defrocked as the House Republican Conference Chair, the third- highest position in the House Republican leadership for speaking out against Donald Trump. She has been a high profile target of the Republican…

Even with my scurrying about for flowers and garden supplies and working long hours outdoors this past week, I could not escape the din of the political battles going on in Washington and elsewhere. The morning newspapers and evening news continue to be dominated by what amounts to political circus. Working in the garden and…

Unfortunately my absence this last week is not because I have taken a few leisurely days off from writing. It’s because I chose a long time ago to live in the country as opposed to a turn-key place in town. The joys of being here sometimes exact a price which involves hard work. The first…

After winter on St. Simons, I arrived back at Potlatch to find the spring season struggling with tornadoes and rainstorms as it moves toward summer. The trees and foliage have come out full force closing out the light and embracing the cabin. I look out the window into darkness this morning. The drive up yesterday…

Shucking oysters under the gazebo This past Friday evening, April 30th, we hosted an oyster roast, symbolic in sundry ways, at the Oliver family’s Darien fish camp. The end of the oyster season and the coming of summer, it was principally a tribute to Susan Ryles, the recently retired director of Glynn Visual Arts, for…

I’ve become increasingly disillusioned and depressed about the state of politics. I’ve reached out to friends on the Right and on the Left, giving them openings to cross the political divide and urging them not to be so partisan. I’ve couched my critiques with forbearance for views I don’t share. I’ve tried my damnedest to…

I read an interesting piece on a friend’s Facebook page that caught my attention and spoke to the rather complicated and sometimes absurd quality of the gun debate. I must admit that it is more than a bit surreal in that it relates his conversation with a black snake named Fred. I have printed it…