I’ve always walked fast. I was the youngest and shortest of four girls, and ever since I learned to walk, I had to walk fast to keep up in my family of giants. When Tom began to walk again after the stroke, it was slow. One step at a time. He had to think about … read more Hover craft
Tag: 2012
Magic mushroom
I’ve been struggling to even out my sleep schedule. Last night I suddenly knew what I needed: a cup of reishi mushroom tea. Reishi grows in the forest, and abundantly on dying hemlocks. I photographed the one above in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It’s a large, hard mushroom, with colored bands and a red waxy cap. … read more Magic mushroom
Poverty amid plenty
I am taking a video inventory at the rental house, in case it burns to the ground. My voice is clinical and flat as I pan the camera around each room, peering into cupboards, narrating. Here in the kitchen, we have an electronic food scale and a manual scale, we have pots and pans brought … read more Poverty amid plenty
Exploding devices
A few weeks ago, Tom’s old iPhone exploded. We didn’t hear it happen. We just opened the drawer one day, and there it was – an exploded iPhone. I discovered it while we were packing for our trip to Lexington, and didn’t have time to figure out the right way to dispose of it. But … read more Exploding devices
What you can do tomorrow
Fellow citizens of the United States: No matter who you are or where you are, no matter your party or lack thereof, you can do more than vote tomorrow. Vote – yes, of course, if you haven’t already. You can make sure you are ready to vote on ALL the positions and issues on your ballot … read more What you can do tomorrow
Editing on deadline
[Oct. 26] I didn’t really sleep last night. Should have been a good night’s sleep, because I was dead tired from two days of driving back from Virginia and the emotional exhaustion from the intensity of that visit. But duty called. I was up half the night waiting for page proofs. What a feeling. It’s … read more Editing on deadline
Rabbit tobacco
When I was studying herbs five years ago, I learned that a common weed was used by the Cherokee to treat people who had a particular psychological malady: being haunted by a ghost that caused them to want to run away. I’ve been having that ailment lately. Some days I just want to be somewhere else. … read more Rabbit tobacco
The woman with the dirty T-shirt
She wavered at the car and the crosswalk, not exactly weaving but not quite steady either. Her hair was six ways to Christmas, unbrushed; her skin was blotchy and eyes baggy without makeup. Her shorts were too short for a 50-something woman out in public, her T-shirt was stained and crumpled. It seemed she hadn’t … read more The woman with the dirty T-shirt
Shifting light frames
The sky has been strange lately, like it can’t make up its mind. Rain, or not rain? Clouds move in and out, the light changes, but no rain. This kind of light, though, frames single objects in a particular way that makes it easier to see beauty. Today I was hiking along a lovely and … read more Shifting light frames
Bear bust
Yesterday was busy enough as it was, but I also had to stop to intervene in a neighborhood break-in. I was driving to go and fix lunch for Tom. A fat black bear cub was wandering along the road. I slowed to a crawl, looking for his mother. She was easy to spot. Standing on … read more Bear bust